CC QMG RCA
1904 - 1990
Canadian
Le ballon rouge
oil on canvas
signed and on verso titled, dated circa 1971 on the gallery labels and inscribed "4727-C" and "5198c"
14 x 12 in, 35.6 x 30.5 cm
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD
Sold for: $25,000
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Galerie Christin, Quebec City
Galerie Bernard Desroches, Montreal
Galerie Michel-Ange, Montreal
Private Collection, Quebec
LITERATURE
Guy Robert, Lemieux, 1975, page 154
“Ever since 1956…his painting has ruthlessly stripped away all superfluous decoration, retaining only the bare bones of nostalgia, which is carried by the personages and landscapes of his pictures. His is the art of decanting, filtering, maturing an idea until it reaches a point at which it can express some aspect of the great mystery which is the human condition.”
- Guy Robert
As in his winterscapes, Jean Paul Lemieux has distilled this landscape to sand, a strip of water and sky, which forms the backdrop for the central figure. The boy sits still on the sand, his hand on the red ball – a symbol of innocent childhood play. His nudity brings an association of vulnerability yet he looks calmly away, lost in contemplation, inhabiting a simple moment of relaxation drenched in the sun that reflects off his shoulders, knees and hair. It is a scene set on an empty stage, in which Lemieux casts the boy as an enigmatic character, on whom we project our own interpretation of his state of being.
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.