CAMILLE BOMBOIS (1883-1970) LE PARC DE BADEN-BADEN Oil... Lot 40

CAMILLE BOMBOIS (1883-1970) LE PARC DE BADEN-BADEN Oil on canvas Signed lower left Titled on the stretcher Oil on canvas; signed lower left; titled on the stretcher 81,5 X 100 CM - 32 1/8 X 39 3/8 IN. PROVENANCE Osier Collection, Pontchartra. Sale, Tajan, Paris, Espace Tajan, June 23, 2014, lot 98. Acquired at this sale by the present owner. Private collection, Canada. EXHIBITIONS Primitives of Today, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, 1964, no. 31. Rousseau and the World of the Naifs, Tokyo, Seibu Gallery, September 3-28, 1966. "Bombois paints slices of his life, his art is not intimate; of the naive painters, he is the one who was just right to paint the 20th century's Luncheon on the Grass. He builds his canvas as one would build a house; vigorously. The painted volumes stand out against a background, the contours are emphasized. The most tenacious gloom is defused by the vision of Camille Bombois' opulent forms. [...] In the immense gallery of the Naïfs, where there are many called and few chosen, Bombois, along with Séraphine, Vivin and Bauchant, is among the princes, the sun king being, naturally, the Douanier Rousseau. Bombois succeeded in his life and his work. His painting is full of quality and plenitude. Dina Vierny, Camille Bombois, cat. expo., Paris, Galerie Dina Vierny, May 1981, s. é., Paris : 1981, n. p. "Seventy-seven 'naïfs' are crowded in tight rows on the Charpentier's picture rails. The moment is well chosen since, as everyone knows, abstract painters have been biting the dust for some time. And besides, isn't the Museum of Modern Art also preparing to celebrate, in a few days, these spontaneous painters that the encouragement of a Wilhelm Uhde to a Séraphine de Senlis, a Vivin, a Bombois, not too long ago, have made proliferate [...] The presentation is philatelic: the walls are lined with vignettes in which each one expresses his or her more or less candid vision of the world, most often a landscape or flowers: fairground rides (and then the fall back into childhood is complete), cathedrals and fortified castles, small railroads, Persian-style flyovers, bouquets of fields. The elders form the backbone and the best part of the story: Camille Bombois, the former wrestling champion; Dechelette, the journeyman plasterer; Eve, the octroi employee (like the great Rousseau); Lefranc, who was a hardware merchant, or the postman Rimbert, whose ascent to glory as the Douanier Rousseau was rightly hung up in a prominent place." Michel Conil Lacoste, Primitifs d'aujourd'hui, in Le Monde, June 16, 1964. "Bombois paints slices of his life, his art is not personal; of the naive artists, he was the ideal choice to paint a Déjeuner sur l'herbe for the twentieth century. He constructs his painting as one would construct a house - robustly. The painted three-dimensional forms stand out from the background and the contours are emphasized. Even the most tenacious gloom dissolves before Camille Bombois's opulent forms. [...] In the immense court of the naïve artists, to which many are called but few are chosen, Bombois, along with Séraphine, Vivin, and Bauchant, is among the princes, with Henri Rousseau ruling as the Sun King himself, naturally. Bombois was successful in life and in painting. His art is forged of quality and abundance." Dina Vierny, Camille Bombois,exhib. catal., Paris, Galerie Dina Vierny, May 1981, Paris: 1981. "Seventy-seven 'naïves' are squeezed into tight rows on the walls of Charpentier's gallery. The timing is right because, as everyone knows, the abstract painters have been foundering for some time. And besides, isn't the Musée d'Art Moderne also preparing to celebrate, several days from now, these unschooled painters, who proliferated ages ago when a certain Wilhelm Uhde championed artists like Séraphine de Senlis, Vivin, and Bombois [...] The presentation resembles a stamp collection: the walls are covered in vignettes in which the artists express their more or less candid visions of the world, most often a landscape or flowers: fairgrounds (a complete return to childhood), cathedrals and fortified castles, small railroads, panoramas, bouquets of wildflowers. The older painters form the backbone and the best of the show: Camille Bombois, the former wrestling champion; Dechelette, the journeyman plasterer; Eve, the customs officer (like the great Rousseau); Lefranc, who was an ironsmith; and the postal worker Rimbert; the gallery made a fine choice in hanging Rousseau's ascent to glory in a prominent position." Michel Conil Lacoste, "Primitifs d'aujourd'hui", in Le Monde, 16 June 1964.