作品の裏に未発見絵画、立体派画家Ｆ・レジェ

【ハーグＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスの立体派（キュビズム）の画家フェルナン・レジェのキャンバス画の裏に、１００年以上にわたり別の絵が隠されていたことが分かった。オランダの美術専門家らが６日、発表した。（写真はフェルナン・レジェの別作品の裏から見つかった「屋根の上の煙」。オランダ・ハーグの美術品保存修復スタジオ「リディバイバス」にて）
　ハーグの美術品修復スタジオ「リディバイバス」によると、今回見つかった「屋根の上の煙」は１９１１～１２年ごろの作とみられている。この約１年後に描かれた「パリ祭」の裏から見つかった。
　絵は一部が損傷し、接着剤のようなものが塗られていたが、慎重な修復作業が行われた。そして、パブロ・ピカソと同世代のレジェの「転換点」となる作品であることが分かったという。
　見つかった作品は、レジェのアトリエからノートルダム大聖堂の方を見た際に見えるパリの家々の屋根を描いた連作の一つとみられ、煙が立ち上る煙突を何本も描いている。
　オランダの美術史家シュラール・ファン・ヒューフテン氏によると、屋根の連作はこれまで７枚しか現存が確認されていなかった。今回新たに見つかった絵には、レジェの色使いや抽象化において「極めて重要な」進歩が見られるという。
　オランダ中部のクレラー・ミュラー美術館で、今回発見された絵も含め、１１月１９日から来年の４月２日まで屋根の連作の展示が行われる。
　キャンバスの両面を観賞できるようガラスのキャビネットの中で展示されるという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/10/07-10:56）

Art experts in the Netherlands said Thursday they had discovered an important painting by the French Cubist Fernand Leger that had been hidden for more than a century on the back of another canvas.
The unknown work Smoke over the Rooftops, believed to date from 1911-12, was on the flip-side of Bastille Day, made a year later, according to conservation specialists Studio Redivivus.
Partially damaged and covered with a hard glue-like layer during its lost years, it has now been painstakingly restored and reveals a turning point in the work of Leger, a Paris contemporary of Picasso.
It really is a discovery, Gwendolyn Boeve-Jones, director of the Hague-based Studio Redivivus, told AFP.
The work is believed to be part of a series in which Leger painted the view from his studio of the Paris skyline towards Notre Dame, repeatedly focusing on the smoking chimneys.
Dutch art historian Sjraar van Heugten said only seven from the series were previously known to still exist, and the new work shows hugely important advances in Leger's use of colour and abstraction.
The story of the lost Leger begins around 110 years ago when the artist (1881-1955) gave the Bastille Day painting to his friend Marc Duchene as a wedding present in 1912 or 1913.
But Duchene was killed in World War I, and while the painting stayed in his family the sad memories meant it was never displayed and remained unknown for years, Van Heugten said.
- 'Looks amazing' -
Bastille Day was then bought from Duchene's heirs in 1999 by the Triton Collection, a private art foundation that still owns the painting.
It found there had been some kind of restoration on the back, probably during the 1990s, but it was unknown exactly when and by whom -- and in any case, it had merely caused further damage.
The mystery of what exactly was on the back remained largely intact, even as Bastille Day was shown in several galleries.
It was covered to a large degree with a white-grey material and the collectors had been told it was nothing really to worry about, it's not important, said Boeve-Jones.
A backing board also obscured the image.
But the enigma continued to intrigue Boeve-Jones, who moved to the Netherlands from the United States to work at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum before setting up her own studio.
When I was doing a condition check... I saw some of this which was exposed, and I thought wow, that looks amazing, said Boeve-Jones.
In 2016 the owners asked her to inspect further and Boeve-Jones, who says she has known Leger my whole life, turned detective by poring over the internet and through art publications.
The removal of the glue-like stuff then made it easier to see the distinctive forms and colours beneath, especially the billowing smoke.
It wasn't that difficult to see that it belonged in some way to the Fumees Sur Les Toits (Smoke over the Rooftops) series, she said.
- 'Wonderful painting' -
High-tech imaging techniques looking at the layers of paint and at damage from the frame then allowed her team to restore the painting to its former glory.
The painting's significance quickly emerged, placing it as a huge leap from Leger's darker earlier work to the more abstract and colourful style that the series pioneered.
It's not just that the painting was covered up, that's interesting to a degree -- but what we've found is the role that this must have played in his journey, said Boeve-Jones.
Experts were sure that it was a genuine Leger due to the provenance, to the brushwork and even the 'stretcher' of the canvas that has his signature on.
This says Leger all over it, she said.
Van Heugten, previously head of collections at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, said he was very surprised by the quality of a work once feared hopelessly damaged.
It's a wonderful painting and I'm very glad the restoration was so successful, he said.
The newly-discovered painting goes on display at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the central Netherlands as part of an exhibition on the rooftop series from 19 November until April 2.
It will be displayed in a glass cabinet that will allow viewers to see both sides.