Object number1994.9.1

La semaine des quatre jeudis

Date1949

Artist Balthus (French, 1908-2001)

CultureFrench

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 38 9/16 x 33 1/16 in. (98 x 84 cm)
Framed: 40 3/16 x 35 7/16 x 2 3/8 in. (102 x 90 x 6 cm)

Credit LineGift from the collection of Katherine Sanford Deutsch, class of 1940

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Painting

SignedOn recto, signed lower right in red: Balthus

InscribedOn recto, by artist, lower right in red: 1949

Catalogue raisonnéClair 81BibliographyBalthus: Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, 1983, p. 356, n. 96; Clair, Jean and Balthus. Balthus. 1st ed. Milano: Bompiani, 2001, cat. no. 81; Debray, Cécile. Balthus. Milano: Electa, 2015, p. 130; Eros in der Kunst der Moderne. Wien: Foundation Beyeler, 2007; Leymarie, Jean and Balthus. Balthus. Geneva New York: Skira; Rizzoli, 1982, p. 133 and 2nd ed. 1990, pp. 134, 146; Nobuyuki, Okabe. Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College. Japan: Yamagata Museum of Art, cat. no. 66, p. 126; Monnier, Virginie, Balthus, and Jean Clair. Balthus: catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre complet / par Virginie Monnier ; sous la direction scientifique de Jean Clair. Précédé de Le sommeil de cent ans / par Jean Clair. Paris: Gallimard, 1999, p. 182; Mundy, James, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center: Vassar College The History and Collection. New York: Prestel Publishing, 2007, p. 122; Rewald, Sabine, Balthus: Cats and Girls. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2013, pp. 122-123; Roy, Claude. Balthus. Paris: Gallimard, 1996, pp. 86-87; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. Balthus. Japan, NHK, NHK Promotions, The Asahi Shimbun, 2014, cat no. 34; Weber, Nicholas Fox. Balthus: A Biography. 1st ed. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1999, p. 418ProvenancePierre Matisse Gallery;
Purchased by Katherine Sanford Deutsch, 1952;
Inherited by husband, Richard Deutsch, 1989

Vassar Exhibitions

Paris-New York: Modernist Painting in 19th and 20th century Masterworks from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College

Exhibition HistoryPierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1949, 1956, and 1984;

Balthus, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy, September 9, 2001 - January 6, 2002;

Eros and Modern Art, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland, October 8, 2006 – February 18, 2007; BA-CA Kunstform, Vienna, Austria, March 1 – July 22, 2007;

Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan, March 7 - May 11, 2008; Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume, Japan, May 17 - July 20, 2008; Yamagata Museum of Art, Yamagata, Japan, July 30 - August 31, 2008; Fuchu Art Museum, Fuchu, Japan, September 6 - November 3, 2008; Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, Miyazaki, Japan, November 14 - December 14, 2008

Balthus: Cats and Girls, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, August 23 - January 13, 2014;

A Retrospective: Balthus and Japan, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan, July 5 - September 7, 2014; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, April 19 - June 22, 2014;

Balthasar Klossowski de Rola - BALTHUS, Kunstforum Wien, Vienna, Austria, February 17 - June 19, 2016; Scudeire del Quirnale, Rome, Italy, October 15, 2015 - January 24, 2016

Label TextThe title of this painting translated literally is “The week of four Thursdays.” It refers to the French tradition of early dismissal of students from their classes on Thursdays, thus a week filled with Thursdays conjures an image of languor during this fantasy vacation from school. Balthus, descended from Polish nobility, was best known for his enigmatic images of pubescent girls lost in various forms of self-absorbed reverie. The Vassar painting is typical of this aspect of his art, though the eroticism of the subject is underplayed. The presence of the cat was often used by the artist as a foil for the innocent and artless sensuality of the young girls. In this case, its expression suggests a greater malevolence. A number of preliminary drawings and paintings for this major composition survive in collections in Europe, America, and Australia. Le semaine des quatre jeudis was purchased by Vassar alumna Katherine Sanford Deutsch directly from the Pierre Matisse Gallery in 1952 as she was in the process of assembling a small collection of European and American contemporary paintings to install in her recently constructed home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Vassar’s strong holdings of post-war modern art is due largely to her generosity.

Terms

female

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu