Édouard Léon Cortès (French, 1882–1969) Lot n° 40

Le Moulin Rouge, Place Blanche, Signed 'EDOUARD [sic] CORTÈS.' bottom right; also with 'copyright' stamp verso, oil on canvas 13 x 18 in. (33 x 45.7cm) Executed in 1956.Galerie F. Clair, Paris (1956). Acquired directly from the above on January 2, 1957. Herbert Arnot Inc., New York, New York. Acquired directly from the above on January 18, 1957. The Haussner's Restaurant Collection, Baltimore, Maryland. Sotheby's, New York, sale of November 2, 1999, lot 132 (B). Acquired directly from the above sale. Hammer Galleries, New York, New York. Acquired directly from the above in 2000. Private Collection, Bronxville, New York. EXHIBITED: Hammer Galleries, New York, New York, 2000. LITERATURE: Hammer Galleries, An Exhibition Catalogue, 2000, no. 26869-002, p. 28. Nicole Verdier, "Paris 1940-1969," in Édouard Cortès, Catalogue Raisonné de l'Oeuvre Peint, Vol. II, Contexte, Paris, 2002, no. 865, p. 204, (illustrated). NOTE: Édouard Cortès was born in the small village of Lagny-sur-Marne in 1882. The son of famous Spanish court painter Antonio Cortès, he trained in his father's studio from the age of thirteen. Although his hometown was sparsely populated, its proximity to Paris attracted many Parisian artists associated with the Barbizon school, who came to paint its adjoining forests. It also enabled the Cortès family to travel to the capital and keep up with the latest artistic trends. By 1900 Cortès had executed his first series of Paris street scenes, all marked by a dark, dramatic lighting. At the time, Paris was the center of the art world, a bustling international city that attracted artists, dealers, and collectors from around the globe. City scenes were particularly in demand, and Cortès, alongside painters like Jean Béraud and Eugène Galien-Laloue, wisely decided to make this genre his niche. Through his bold brushstrokes and colorful palette, Cortès was able to render the