André Derain (1880-1954) - Le modèle

André Derain (1880–1954) — The Model

Original pencil drawing, bearing in the lower right corner the workshop stamp of André Derain, accompanied by the inventory number 1301.

This study depicts a young woman standing, simply dressed in culottes, with her hands resting at her hips. The handling is free and spontaneous, with a supple line that favors the attitude and presence of the model over detail.

The drawing measures about 23.3 × 15.5 cm and is presented with a mat in an elegant frame of about 43 × 35.5 cm.

A particularly interesting element appears in the very material of the sheet: Derain returned to this support after erasing an earlier study. A few traces of that first figure remain perceptible beneath the current drawing, like a discreet “ghost drawing.” Far from altering the work, this presence gives the sheet a very livel y dimension and allows a glimpse into the artist’s exploratory process.

Drawings of models by Derain bearing the workshop stamp constitute a well-documented group. Sheets of very similar dimensions, also representing model studies and bearing the workshop stamp accompanied by inventory numbers, regularly appear at auction.

This practice of drawing from the model accompanied Derain throughout his career and occupies an important place in his work on paper. The direct character of these studies enables capturing the artist’s gesture in a form that is particularly free and spontaneous.

A work on paper that is at once intimate and lively, as much for its graphic quality as for the presence of the workshop stamp and the visible trace of an initial investigation beneath the final drawing.