Raoul Dufy
French, 1877–1953
La Jetée de Deauville, 1933
Oil on canvas
46.2 x 110.3 cm
Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Gift of Mr. John A. MacAulay, Q.C. and Mrs. MacAulay
G-54-10
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Raoul Dufy was a highly imaginative and versatile artist who achieved considerable success as a painter and designer. Influenced by the work of Henri Matisse and Paul Cézanne, he created his own distinctive style, characterized by expressive calligraphic brushwork and vibrant colours. Favouring fashionable scenes of luxury and recreational pleasure, Dufy spent many years painting along the French Riviera. The WAG canvas, however, captures another coast, depicting here the bustle of social activity in the resort town of Deauville on the Atlantic coast. Employing energetic blue lines that convey his enthusiasm for sky and sea, Dufy introduces striking colour blocks in yellows, purples, and reds, accentuating boldly shifting forms to capture the frenetic hubbub at the harbour.