Félix Elie Tobeen (1880-1938)
Lot 17 The French painter Félix Elie Bonnet (1880-1938) - pseudonym Tobeen - was born and raised in Bordeaux. Although he loved the western part of the Pyrenees, Basque country, where he found his favourite subjects, he left for Paris in 1907, where he had his studio for nearly 20 years. In 1911 he exhibited his work at the Salon des Indépendants. One year later he obtained a reputation with his large painting Pelotaris (former Scheringa Collection; to be sold at Impressionist & Modern Art, Day Sale, Christie's, London, 7 February 2013) and participated in the leading Section d'Or exhibition together with artists like Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), Albert Gleizes (1881-1953), Jean Metzinger (1883-1956) and Juan Gris (1887-1927), who were all inspired by Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and used (geometrical) abstract forms and a restricted use of colour. Tobeen's post-cubist works are painted in a poetical realistic style with an obvious influence of Cubism. When - from 1927 on - the Dutch art-critic and dealer H.P. Bremmer (1871-1956) purchased paintings for the Kröller-Müller Museum the interest for his work in The Netherlands grew rapidly.

We kindly thank Rosella Huber-Spanier, the author of the catalogue raissonné on the artist's work, for her help in cataloguing.

Félix Elie Tobeen (1880-1938)

Vase blanc et boîte rouge

Closed27 November 2012

Price Realised

EUR 3,250

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Félix Elie Tobeen (1880-1938)
Vase blanc et boîte rouge
signed (scratched) 'Tobeen' (lower right)
oil on canvas
47 x 39 cm.

Kunsthandel G.J. Nieuwenhuizen Segaar, The Hague.
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 6 December 2000, lot 62.
Kunsthandel Rueb, Amsterdam.
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2002.