Jean Dufy “La Chasse à Courre” 1929

Jean Dufy was born in Le Havre, France, into an artistically gifted family. While two of his brothers became musicians, his older brother Raoul also devoted himself to painting and became a sought-after artist. After visiting an exhibition of the Cercle de l’Art Moderne in Le Havre in 1906, the painting “Fenetre ouverte à Collioure” by Henri Matisse inspired Jean Dufy to begin his own career in painting. He sold his first works of art at the Cercle de l’Art Moderne as early as 1907 and moved to Paris after his military service in 1912.

There he frequented the artistic circles in Montmartre and was acquainted with Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, and André Derain, among others. In 1914 he presented his works extremely successfully at the Berthe Weill Gallery.

Dufy was active not only as a painter but also as a designer, publishing a variety of fabric and porcelain designs. Dufy often depicted in his works his great love, the city of Paris, but scenes of horsemen or the circus are also very famous. Dufy also dedicated an entire cycle to orchestras and musicians. His pictorial language is characterized above all by a cheerful brightness of color.

Our painting “La Chasse à Courre” was created in 1929. Dufy masterfully succeeds here in depicting the movement of the horses through the dynamics of the brushstrokes. The briskly applied forest in the background of the scene also creates the impression of swift riding. The two figures in the front serve as a calming element in the painting, catching the eye of the viewer. This work is a masterful composition by the artist at the peak of his creativity and shows his skill in an impressive way.

Jean Dufy’s works are exhibited in the Albertina Museum, Vienna; Centre Pompidu in Paris; MOMA New York City; and others.