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French artist (1876–1958) and a member of the Fauvists, whose work is typically marked by bold colors and eccentric brushwork. Fascinating ALS in French, signed “Maurice Vlaminck,” eight pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8.25, no date. Handwritten letter with remarks on several great artists, referring to Rodin, Derain, Pissarro, Monet, Cézanne, and others. In part (translated): "Rodin! The whole country is run by the hoarders of Art—of great, official Art! It doesn't matter here, worries there, and on the other hand, simply laziness and above all, ignorance! And I remember the days with André Derain when, lacking canvas and pigments, we would head to Master Jacomin's house! At each moment of greatest hardship, we would go to Jacomin's: where we found a fire in the stove and the pigments we needed—! But he made us admire Painting and launched open attacks against French Artists! He had his reproaches—: poor position… everyone was denigrating him… there was a conspiracy against him…! He said all this in a gentle, unconcealed tone… aware of the great artist he was, with an endless cigarette smoking his gray beard! He made us pay for the warmth of the stove and the pigments… along with his advice!—To work seriously, you have to copy… be conscientious. You'll never become a Painter like that!… You don't know what painting is…! That was twenty years ago! I'm angry with you… never (and he's dead now)… my work, and even less so André Derain's, confirmed his thoughts on painting! But I also swear… that I've never been able to copy one of his paintings without reworking it!… without adding color, without creating an interpretation instead of a copy… That's what Impressionism is! He talked to us about Pissarro, Claude Monet, Cézanne, whom he knew!…
Cézanne! We lived together in the same studio for two years! Cézanne! He came and went, worked without speaking… he never finished anything… formless, half-scraped studies; we had them done when we rented that studio! I must, if I remember correctly, have some of his studies in the attic… days passed, for Jacomin, for me, for Derain, for Cézanne. A few years ago, I met Master Jacomin's son. At that time, Cézanne's talent and fame were spreading. 'Didn't your father tell me that there must be some Cézanne studies in his attic?' I asked him. 'Yes, we already looked… but they're no longer there! My father painted over a large Cézanne canvas, a landscape with goats. He still sold it to an American; and the others were painted over it too… we tried to scrape the painting off, but it's impossible not to remove everything!' So, without letting him see my true feelings, without irony, I said to him: 'At the time, you may have had a small fortune!' 'Yes, but we didn't know it!' Two or three years passed. I met old Jacomin and his son; he was old, ill…He spoke of painting, but before leaving, his son told me: 'Anyway, you and Derain aren't as good… you came to the studio to work, and you never left a thing!'…P.S. One thing consoles me: virtue is always rewarded… and talent always recognized… and that, as I write these lines… the most beautiful canvases by Paul Cézanne are in the Louvre and in the greatest French galleries!" In fine condition.
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