Raoul Dufy (1877-1953)
NAME: Femme avec chapeau drôle
ENGLISH NAME: Woman with a Funny Hat
MEDIUM: Original stone Lithograph on Arches vellum paper
SIGNATURE: Not Signed
SIZE: 28 x 22 cm (c. 11 x 9 inch)
IMAGE is ACTUAL WORK
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Raoul Dufy (1877 - 1953) was french painter and the brother of Jean Dufy. But he was not only a painter, but a draftsman, printmaker, book illustrator, scenic designer, furniture designer and planner of public spaces. Dufy grew up in a large family from Le Havre in Normandy, France. At eighteen years old, he started night classes at the Le Havre École des Beaux-Arts school. There he met Othon Friesz who became his lifelong friend. During this part of his life, he was painting mostly landscapes.
In 1900 he won a scholarship to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He joined up with Friesz again. In addition, he was heavily influenced at the time by Claude Monet and Camille Pissaro. He began exhibiting at Berthe Weill’s gallery and the Salon des Indépendants which started to boost his confidence. It is said that Henri Matisse’s Lux, Calme et Volupté was what caused him to move toward Fauvism. He spend the next 15 years exploring this genre, but in 1920 he was testing Cubism. As he developed his own approach to this style, he created vibrant oils and watercolors with yacht scenes, the French Riviera, parties and musical events.
Dufy is known for his very large painting, the fresco La Fée Electricité for the Paris Expo in 1937. He continued to exhibit in the 1940s and early ‘50s until his hands were struck with rheumatoid arthritis and he struggled to paint. He went to the US for an experimental treatment and it was successful which allowed him to continue with his painting until his death.
Raoul Dufy died in 1953 and is buried near Matisse.