ANDRÉ DERAIN (1880-1954) Portrait of a Woman, circa 1950-1953 Ink drawing on tracing paper, workshop stamped lower right. On the reverse of the mount, a copy of a certificate from Geneviève Taillade dated May 29, 1994 in Vichy, certifying that the drawing reproduced, dated 1950-53, "is indeed an authentic work by [her] uncle". Large tear. Height 30 cm - Width 18 cm André Derain sought to capture the essence of things rather than appearances. This drawing on tracing reveals the quest for synthesis and purity that characterizes his late period. Derain's precise lines, gentle volumes and economy of means give this portrait a silent, almost sculptural presence. This work on tracing paper, a modest but delicate medium, offers us privileged access to the intimacy of gesture, to the genesis of form, and illustrates how far Derain, far from the Fauvist outbursts of his early years, remains a master of line and light.