Le Bon Causeur (The Chatterer)
Maker
(artist)
1901-1985
1901-1985
Title
Le Bon Causeur (The Chatterer)
Date of Production
1951
Medium
oil-based putty, oil glazes thinned with turpentine or varni, scraping, incising and wiping on paper, laid down on canvas
Dimensions
Height: 36.3 cm
Width: 28.7 cm
Width: 28.7 cm
Accession Number
LP.2020.HK.1
Mode of Acquisition
Karshan Collection, long-term loan, 2020
Credit
Promised gift by Linda Karshan in memory of her husband, Howard Karshan. On long-term loan to The Courtauld Gallery
Copyright
© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2023
Location
Not currently on display
Label Text
At first glance, this grinning figure in a hat — part stick figure, part amorphous blob — resembles a child’s drawing. The work grew out of Jean Dubuffet’s keen interest in the art made by children and those with no formal training, which he referred to as Art Brut (‘raw art’). Dubuffet’s search for inspiration outside conventional channels extends to his materials. Here, he used putty, a traditional builders’ material, to create a textured base for the figure. Dubuffet’s title gives an additional sense of the figure’s character as an overly talkative man; he appears to be attracting the viewer’s attention with a wave.
Provenance
Carlo Cardazzo, Venise/Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, 1958; Riccardo Jucker, Milan [info Cardazzo 1960]; Paolo Barbé, Novara [info Galerie Brera 1964/reed. fasc.1979]; possibly purchased at Art Basel from Waddington Galleries by Howard Karshan (1933-2017) [as per Linda Karshan's recollection - record not yet found]; Promised gift by Linda Karshan in memory of her husband, Howard Karshan. On long-term loan to The Courtauld Gallery.
Exhibition History
Modern Drawings: The Karshan Gift, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 19/11/2021-09/01/2022
Dubuffet, Galleria Selecta, Rome, 31/03/1958-22/04/1958
Jean Dubuffet, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, 25/01/1958-14/02/1958
Dubuffet, Galleria Selecta, Rome, 31/03/1958-22/04/1958
Jean Dubuffet, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, 25/01/1958-14/02/1958
Literature
Modern Drawings: The Karshan Gift, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 20 Nov. 2021 - 9 Jan. 2022
cat. no. 8
Fig. p. p. 65, detail on p. 66
Loreau, M., Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet fascicule VII: Tables paysagées du mental, pierres philosophiques, Paris 1979
p. 71, no. 106
cat. no. 8
Fig. p. p. 65, detail on p. 66
Loreau, M., Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet fascicule VII: Tables paysagées du mental, pierres philosophiques, Paris 1979
p. 71, no. 106
Inscriptions
Inscription: Recto: upper left, white paint, signed and dated: "J. Dubuffet / 51".
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