Perroquet, c. 1938
Oil on cardboard, signed lower left
93 x 65 cm
History:
The oval format of this work is unusual for the artist and the animal represented is just as unusual. In the bird family, Jouve was more familiar with the eagle owls or eagles, sometimes the roosters. The parrot is a rarer motif and an opportunity to develop a brilliant palette, with bright red, yellow and blue being rarely the prerogative of the artist's favourite models. The work is presented in its original solid oak frame made by the Havard house. Jouve had in fact painted three oils exactly the same size and framed in the same way. This one, the only one remaining in private hands and for the first time for sale, shows a single animal, while another showed two parrots and the last three parrots, the latter two of which are now kept in public collections (Musée de Poitiers and Musée départemental de l'Oise in Beauvais).
Provenance:
Private collection
Collections:
Musée de Poitiers (two parrots)
Musée départemental de l’Oise, Beauvais (three parrots)
Exhibition history:
Retrospective Paul Jouve, Musée de la France d'Outre-Mer, Paris, 16 April - 8 May 1955, n°52.