Lot 77: Fernand Leduc 1916 - Canadian oil on canvas Rouge

Fernand Leduc 1916 - Canadian oil on canvas Rouge mitoyen 39 1/4 x 32 inches 99.7 x 81.3 centimeters signed and dated 1967 and on verso titled and dated on the stretcher Literature:Line Ouellet, Fernand Leduc - Essay, 2007, gd128182784313408336.htm (accessed April 13, 2009) Provenance:Private Collection, Montreal As the eldest member of Paul-Émile Borduas's circle, and the theoretician among the signatories of the Refus Global, Fernand Leduc knew he would have to find his own course in order to reconcile the energy found in the unconscious with his deep-seated predilection for order. His work at that point became more concerned with the concept of a constructed order and the role of geometry in painting. But as the 1960s progressed, Leduc's work became less preoccupied with the geometric and hard-edged properties of form and more involved with the interaction and contrast of colours. Shapes became somewhat softer and curvilinear, and the forms present in the work seemed to exist mainly to heighten varying depths of colour. Line Ouellet observes, "Like the Impressionists, Leduc is a true master of colour, whose hues and values he has tirelessly tested. These works require great clarity of vision on the part of the artist, and total immersion in the expanse of colour on the part of the viewer, the better to appreciate their many nuances. In such paintings, time and light meet and are held captive, to our very great delight."