"When I was an art dealer"

[LCR]

That's right, gans, today as in the menu we Vollar.
Personally, translating, amused. I hope you also enjoy

Yes, I read your yesterday's version - a disgrace, of course, the mass of typos, but not only - there are errors in the case (you know, in the course of the translation change your design, and back to return, forget all correct), I apologize. But to translate easily, quickly and fairly pleasant, and edit - a long and nasty, so do not judge us too severely, I will continue as renshe.


Vollar

I pritorgovyval pictures, but it gave me the money not much, anyway, to me that money does not zvatalo - I loved the luxury and grafted to live beyond their means (both of which lack accompanied me throughout my life), so I regularly went to the Palace Justice to Denain one of my brothers-vdvokatov.
/... /

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One day my brother, the one that posv \\ Teale yourself business law, told me:

- I just won a very important process against Cassirer, the famous German art dealer.

I stood in a rack:
- And who is your lucky customer?
- Ambroise Vollar.

I grabbed him by the hand:

- Amazing! Are you familiar with Vollarom, with great Vollarom!

He smiled:

- Of course I know him. If you want, you can submit to it - I was just going to see him.

That's how I found myself in the famous mansion on the street Martinyak.

I was very excited and agitated, afraid that something did not. At this time Vollar has already become something of a living legend.
He was waiting for us in the big dining room on the second floor.
"Creole is the Buddha" - an expression of Pierre Loeb came into my head as soon as I saw him.
He was very big, fat and sleepy - as plenty medvel Having eaten his fill. The eyelids almost closed his eyes, pozhtomu seemed that all the time he contemplates his own belly ...

My brother introduced me by saying that I was interested in painting and want to become Marchand art.
Huge Ludo lifted one eyelid and measured me with a look full of wickedness.

- Ah, that's like - I said good-naturedly, but casually - you want to become Marchand?
- This is my most ardent desire.

Hoping to leave a good impression on him, I began telling him about Kisling and Soutine.
He nodded his head, it seemed that he was interested. Later, I realized that both of these artist's absolutely not interested in him.
We have to think that I was interested in him again. Since that day I became a regular visitor at this house.
Patronage Ambreaza Vollara helped me to become one of the largest Marchand art in Paris.

Ambroise Vollar played a decisive role in the history of French and international art. He not only sold paintings, not only was the largest, most significant Marchand: he was passionately fond of painting, and he had a real gift to "discover" artists. Anyone who wants to understand the nature of this man, dolden especially considering that Vollar always acted for his own pleasure, not from passion to profit.

Vollar was born in 1868 in Saint-Denis de la Reunion, he was the eldest of ten children. His father, who had moved to the island of Reunion, worked as a clerk in a notary's office. Collect more money, he managed to buy this office. It was a stern, cold man who possessed the desire to climb the social ladder. His son was the complete opposite of him ...

After school, young Vollar went to the metropolis. His fate was predetermined: he had the right to examine and to replace his father in the notary's office.
Before finalizing two years at the Faculty of Law in Montpellier, and earned a degree, Vollar went to Paris to prepare a doctoral thesis. His father paid him rent, which was enough for a modest life.
But Paris has had an unforeseen effect on Vollara, which his father could not have foreseen: he began to walk on exhibitions, became friends with bohemia. Right it was not interested, and the prospect of returning to his island was not entirely relish.
Its terribly attracted to art, especially painting, but the question of how to combine this love with the need to earn a living the answer he was not.

Nevertheless, in twenty years, he closed his eyes and jumped into the water: neglected right, he went to work for the seller in the art gallery.

Gallery is called "The Art Union, and to be honest, this was an unusual place:" Art Union "claim the protection of art from those days of madmen and revolutionaries, those who are called" irreconcilable ", a critic dubbed the" Impressionists ". In the "Art Union" in honor of the artists were just covered with honors, receiving state contracts - Falger, Jerome, Bonn, Danyang-Bouveret. They were considered "honor of the nation" and sold their works for a fabulous prices: in 1893 a small picture of Bonn was snapped up for 20,000 francs (then!). After several years the powerful currents of modern painting completely swept from the stage this academic products ...

Despite its grand ambitions, "Art Union" led a modest existence. Its director, Dumas, who was himself a painter, selling his works, and paintings are not too talented hudodzhnikov, where he moved with great difficulty - one of those "racing foals" specialized in portraits of horses on the customer's order.

Vollar appeared in this citadel of the most rabid of conformity - as the elephant in the old shop selling porcelain. He chuckled softly at his mustache, but also irritated, of course ...
He received 125 francs a month, which he managed to not only live but also to buy on the embankments pictures for resale. At that time, the embankments could be found engravings Rops, Forena and Steynlena at quite reasonable prices. /And besides, he bought - just a penny - the canvases of young artists who did not have any quotes ...

Once, exclusively for the love of provocation, he asked his director of these unknown artists - call them by Degas, Renoir, Cezanne. Dumas was furious: it was a grave affront to "fine taste" of his picture, which he was so proud ...

After such an ugly outburst, Dumas began to treat the young giant is very suspicious. Another good thing that he did not know that he sold the work of Sisley one koientov "Art Union"!
In 1890 they broke up "on the incompatibility of characters.


Vollar left without work, but with a small but selective personal collection. He's not going to sell her Marchand, who for his part does not aspire to acquire it - she was too "revolutionary".

Then he decided to become a dealer and find his own clients.
He took a small apartment on the streets of the Apennines, moved his treasures there and go hunting for the client.
His first customer was the wine merchant, who bought him Forena - throughout his life Vollar fed to the artist to a particular weakness, probably in memory of this transaction. Late Forain became famous frequenter vollarovskih "dinners in the cellar.

In 1893 Vollar from the dealer became a Marshal - he rented a small shop at No. 39 on the street Laffitte, who was then specialized in trade zhiyopisyu, antiques and general junk. Such specialization was due simply to the proximity of the street to the Hotel Drouot. Now there are placed and booksellers, numismatists and philatelists. At that time there were also many mazaginov, sells materials for painting, pozhtomu artists often strolled along to buy his paints, but at the same time and see what makes them come to the art. Among them were Matisse, Picasso, Rouault, Vlaminck ...

Near undemanding benches nahodiolis showcases the largest marshanok the time: Dio, Gérard, Meyer, Besnier, Tampler, and most important - Durand-Ruel and Bernheim Young. For many years protyadzhenii ul Lafite was the cradle of a new, zhiyvogo art.

Nepoladeku from the street Lafite was ul Le Pelletier, very like her. It housed the shop of Le Barque de Butvil - it was a modest Marchand, over the years, he sold the works of old masters, and suddenly at the Salon of Independent sex revelation - the revelation of a new art. He sold all his old pictures, repainted his shop, hung a sign at the entrance to "The Impressionists and Symbolists," and began selling Bonnard, Vuillard, Lautrec, and Maurice Denis. In a prominent place in the store hung a plaque on which were listed the names of his "running horses", Manet, Sisley, Monet and Picasso took pride of place there. Sometimes, when any young artist he was frustrated, he was painting the his name to this Leaderboard ...

Hence, Vollar sedentarizirovalsya, sat in the director's chair - while talking about the director's chair can only metaphorically, since almost no furniture in the shop was not. Honestly, I had a shop pathetic! Tiny, with a microscopic carton, but it does not matter: Vollar not zaderzhivatsya on the details. He took up that moved there all his canvases, now remained only to make a name for himself.

In 1893 he bought from the widow of Manet whole pile of drawings and exhibited them. The exhibition remained completely unnoticed ... but not quite ...
Pissarro wrote to his daughter: "One young man had just opened maenkuyu gallery. He loves our school. Is a real enthusiast and he knows his job "- this phrase - the key to understanding the phenomenon Vollara.

Young artists, these "subversive elements", marginal, we felt that finally poyavils someone who understands, who can sell their work, help them find a place in the world of art. After the door saloons, which was exhibited at the official art, were closed to them, therefore, the only hope for fame were their marshal, who would have dared to advance their art. Vollar perfectly match this criteria ...

Pissarro and Renoir had to get acquainted sya with "young man". He liked them, despite its ever-sleepy and kind - ka if everything on Earth long ago tired of him - and almost always empty gallery. They advised him to draw attention to a completely unknown artist by the name of Paul Cezanne.

Vollar heed their advice. He found a way to see the work of Cezanne, and did it very carefully.

Can I say that he immediately realized the greatness of Cezanne's search? What it immediately stirred absolute sincerity and lonely courage of his work? In any case, one thing is clear - something he sensed in them, and immediately announced that the painting he likes.

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Vollar really had an incredibly keen eye, an unusually loyal hsteticheskim intuition, deep and strong, otherwise he would not have interested the artist, whose work was profoundly different not only from the official art, but also from art impressionisov.

Here it is, "miracle" Vollara ...

In 1895, gaining a little more spacious shop in the house 41 on the street Laffitte, he decided to organize an exhibition of Cezanne (talk about "organization" also can be used only metaforiyaeskom sense: as usual, put Vollar shtebelya pictures, and watch them come only who really needed to see them - Vollar made no bills, and not sent out invitations. Even becoming famous, he never did it).

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To implement this idea remained only one thing - to find Cezanne. And then discovered that there is a problem: Cezanne's gone! Vollara (which Renoir said that "as lgavaya dog, he steals per game) came out to hunt. He sought Cezanne in the forest of Fontainebleau, then from the merchant pichsebumazhnymi goods, found at last his studio, but that's only Cezanne in her absence. The landlord told him that Cezanne vernuls in Paris and lived on the street, whose name he had forgotten, remembered only that in this title were present at the same time the name of a saint and ... some kind of beast. Vollar began to think, came to the conclusion that it could only Th Street Lviv-Saint-Paul, and rushed there.
Approaching the house number 2, he could not catch my breath.

- Mr. Cezanne live here? - He asked the concierge.
- Yes, sir, - answered the lady, - but he went home in Aix-en-Provence.

Far from discouraged, Vollar wrote a letter to Cezanne. In the end, Cezanne promised to send him their work, and soon Vollar received a parcel with one hundred and fifty works, rolled up. It remained only to pull them on stretchers.

The exhibition opened in December 1895, it was an immediate success - so she amused the audience. Art critic attacked Cezanne with incredible brutality. There were cries of pornography - paintings exhibited in the window, depicted bathers - it's quite paradoskalno, if we recall that ofitsitalnyh Salons reigned nude, some of their most popular paintings were pretty racy - bathers in the Turkish baths, massages, all sorts of scenes of abduction and rape of young virgins soldiers flown into a rage-barbarians ... But because of mythological stories, as well as the manner of execution of conformity of execution of these paintings are not offended modesty viewers).

It's amazing: ervym buyer to work with the exhibition Cézanne was a blind man, who said Vollaru that he loves and feels the painting. He was followed by Claude Monet bought three works by Auguste Pelren, King of margarine and one of the most constant and favorite clients Vollara, naakonets, Milan Obrenovic IV, King of Serbia in exile.

At this time, Cezanne and Vollar were still unfamiliar. Cezanne was already more than fifty-five years. It was a man who knew what a disappointment and humiliation. His talent is still not recognized, unable to sell their work, he gave them to anyone who was willing to accept them. Even his childhood friend, Emile Zola, doubted the value of his work, and they are separated Oto other, especially after Zola wrote his novel "The Creation", protopipom hero who served as Cezanne.

As Soutine - and some more - Cezanne often destroyed their work in a fit of rage. One day, desperate to finish the canvas, he tore down the walls all hung with watercolors and stuffed them into the stove. In his studio in Aix, he threw out of work, which he considered a failure, from the window, sometimes they hang on the branches of trees, so it cooled down, he could collect them. Sometimes Cezanne allowed his little son to play with the pictures, he used them as targets, in which he threw an arrow ...

As you can see, the fate of works by Cezanne was not easy.
/... /

A year after the exhibition Vollar decided to go to Cezanne.
Upon arriving, he was surprised to realize that he had seen this man: Two years ago, they exchanged a few words at the exhibition Forena.

Between these two such different people to quickly establish friendly relations. I think that the presence of Vollara, such a big, fat, fixed, reassured by Cezanne, gave him a sense of security. Vollar was his admirer, his Marchand, a man who believed in him!

Once Cezanne decided to write a Vollara portrait. This idea turned out to Vollara a nightmare! Cezanne put him on a rickety stool, hoisted onto the platform. When Vollar said that probably will fall from it, Cezanne told him not to move - then everything will be fine, he assured him.

- I know for sure: it is specifically devised a system that I was afraid to move, was in constant tension, because he was afraid that I fall asleep - told me indignantly Vollar.

Alas Exhausted countless sessions that lasted for many months, Vollar still dozed off ... and boom! He fell from his stool ...

- I told you that you do not move! - Yelled Cezanne - just imagine that you - an apple!

Dissatisfied with the result of his work, Cezanne endlessly copied portrait. After one hundred and fifteenth session, photo opportunities, he confided to his son:
- Plastron shirts, like, written well.

There are many portraits Vollara. Almost all the artists who spoke with him, did with his portrait. Renoir wrote several portraits Vollara most znayaitelny of them, probably the one on which Vollar staring at the statuette. But the oddest portrait - the one where Vollar depicted in the growth, he sits in a chair in a suit ... toeradora. On this costume Vollar told me the amazing story: he bought it in Madrid. When he returned to France and some over-zealous customs official had shown curiosity about this costume, and Vollar obhyasnil it was his working clothes, and to give more weight to his assertion, he put it. Costume, as it seemed to fit him, so one day he came to him to Renoir, for whom Vollar and costume matador made a great impression that he decided to immortalize them.

Bonnard also wrote several portraits Vollara. On one of his canvases, very bright and colorful, Vollar dozing in a chair with a cat on his lap. He did, and etching of the same songs - Vollar there is massive and thoughtful ...
In another illustration unflappable Vollar sitting in his shop, and around him a lot of people go shopping, consider vystavelnnye pictures, talking with each other. There is another great portrait - I gave it to the Paris municipality in 1950, along with Gauguin self-portrait and landscape Yonkinda.

Widely known and a wonderful painting by Picasso, executed in the cubist style somewhere in 1910, there Vollar both stylized, and incredibly similar.

Rouault, Valt, Emile Bernard, Itturino, de Groux, Forain also wrote Vollara. It can be seen on the canvas by Maurice Denis's "homage to Cezanne" - it shows a group of people standing around an easel, on which stands the "Still Life with Vase Fruit" by Cezanne: Odilon Redon, Vuillard, Muller, himself Denis, Bonnard and after picture Cezanne, pointing to her fingers, Vollar. This painting was purchased by an unknown young tileratorom, whose name was Andre Gide.

In 1900 he moved to more Vollar postornoe room, which stands at No. 6 on the street Laffitte. On the occasion of opening a new store he organizschoval exhibit a completely unknown artist, who died ten years ago, Vincent Van Gogh. I must say that this exhibition was also a complete failure. None of the paintings have sold no more than the price of 500 francs.
At this time Vollar became official Marchand Gauguin. The following year he organized the first exhibition of Picasso, and in 1904 - an exhibition of another novice artist, Matisse. None of these shows had no success ...

But Vollara this failure is not too disheartened - he had regular customers, this gallery of kings: Milan, the former King of Serbia, Hevmayer, the American king of sugar, Pelren King margarine and even one MP-royalist, Denis Mowing! Among the clients were Vollara billionaire De Kammondo, and the famous Dr. Barnes. So the client does not represent a random Vollara special interest to ...

The new premises on the street Lafite was casually - the walls were painted with yellow ocher, illuminated by the store the old kerosene lamp, and a tiny carton placed only one picture, but still sometimes it was displayed upside!
But he had to go down to the basement - everything was quite different.
Vollar equipped in the basement of a small kitchen and dining room. You could eat rice with curry.
Soon they could see "all Paris" at the time. This small basement has become a prestigious haven hudodzhnikov and writers. Large meals once a month Vollar invited to his table of artists and political deteley: these were the famous "basement suppers, Bonnard immortalized in one of his canvases. They often attended by Rodin, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, Forain, Bonnard, and Alfred Jarry, Pere Yubyu father (who Vollar greatly admired), prince de Wagram (which at that time pleaded with Bernheim), Count Kessler and Mission Edwards better known under the name Mission Certificate.

The mission, the daughter of a Polish writer, played an important role in the artistic ledah that time. She married the director of the White Journal ", Anglo-Saxon, the billionaire owner of the Paris Casino Edwards and a few pompous, not especially talented artist named Jose Maria Sert - here in this sequence.
She was the inspiration Mallarme, posed for Bonnard and Vuillard, Renoir also wrote with her portrait.

Her late husband was an exhibition in the gallery Charpentier, and she vowed to persuade Degas come to honor this exhibition with their presence.
But in order to get Degas (famous misanthrope and bear), it was necessary to go through Vollara.
MISSION Vollara went on the offensive and eventually plucked out of his promise to bring to the Degas exhibition.
- I have no choice but to fulfill its promise - to tell me Vollar. We Degas used to stroll together in Paris. I went after him, and we went to the street Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, that is, that I quietly let him to the street ...

When they were faced with a gallery Charpentier, Vollar stopped and said:
- Maestro, you give me great pleasure, if you agree to visit the exhibition husband's mission, of which I have often told you.

Caught in rasploh Degas, cursing, entered the gallery.
But he looked at the pictures, as Certificate rushed to him:

- Maestro, what do you think about my work?

Degas ashes of his eyes:
- Your work? They are like Providence, sir - they are inscrutable!

Whereupon he turned and left the gallery, and behind him walked Vollar, a little embarrassed, but whimpering to himself ...