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Description: Painted circa 1922.

Signed van Dongen (upper right); title, signed and dated Amies/van Dongen/5 rue Juliette Lamber Paris/XXII on the reverse

Oil on canvas

To be included in the forthcoming Van Dongen Catalogue raisonné being prepared by Jacques-Chalom des Cordes under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Institute.

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Dimensions: 29 1/8 by 23 1/4 in.

74 by 59 cm

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Provenance: L. Schames, Berlin
Private Collection
Sale: Christie's, London, June 23, 1986, lot 47
Sale: Loudmer, Paris, April 9, 1989, lot 80
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

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Exhibited: Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Van Dongen, Le Peintre, 1990

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Published: Edmond des Courières, Van Dongen, Paris, 1925, illustrated pl. 71

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Notes: In 1918, van Dongen began a long-term relationship with Léo Jacob, also known as Jasmy La Dogaresse, an ambitious woman who helped to launch his career in a new direction due to her connections in the Parisian fashion circles. In 1922 the couple moved to a new residence in rue Juliette Lamber, where van Dongen held exhibitions and Jasmy hosted extravagant parties attended by influential members of high society. Writing about this period of van Dongen's career, that became known as the 'Folle Epoque', Denys Sutton commented: "During the 1920s, Van Dongen became one of the most talked of figures in the French art world and it is only necessary to run through the volume of press cuttings belonging to [his daughter] to be aware of the fact that his name was news. He was a frequent visitor to Deauville, where the smart world gathered, and to the cabarets and restaurants of Paris. What appealed to him about the années folles were their movement and gaiety. He once said: 'I passionately love the life of my time so animated, so feverish! Ah! Life is even more beautiful than painting'" (William Steadman and Denys Sutton, Cornelius Theodorus Marie Van Dongen (exhibition catalogue), Tucson, Arizona, 1971, p. 46).

The present work is a striking example of the stylistic features which characterized much of van Dongen's art from the 1920s. During this period, his creative energy was primarily focused on portraiture, depicting members of high society, as well as performers from the cafés and cabarets that he frequented. In this intimate composition, the two nudes are seen against an undefined background with an ornamental fence behind them. Although depicted in the nude, the women's necklases, earrings and fashionable hairstyles give them an air de l'époque. The highly expressive green coloration of their skin, reminiscent of van Dongen's earlier Fauve paintings, accentuates the sensual character of the sitters. With their brightly colored, almond-shaped eyes, so typical of van Dongen's portraiture, looking just away from the viewer, and the slightly Asiatic physiognomy of the woman on the right, Les Amies is veiled in an atmoshpere of exoticism and mystery.