Kees Van Dongen

Do you have a piece by Kees Van Dongen in your possession and would like to know its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your piece, provide you with an estimate of the market price, and then help you to sell at the best possible price.

Status, estimation and price of the artist Kees Van Dongen

Price of a painting: 85,000 – 1,000,000 €.

Price of a drawing: 400 – 54,000 €.

Estimation of a print: 50 – 500 €.

Price of an object: 2,600 – 11,000 €.

If you would like to have a Van Dongen work appraised, our experts will take care of everything.

Van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus

Better known as “Kees”, the painter was part of the avant-garde of Fauvism at the beginning of the 20th century. He was born in 1877 near the city of Rotterdam and arrived in Paris in 1897. He had a series of different jobs until he managed to settle in Montmartre, in the famous 20th century artist’s residence, “Le Bateau-lavoir” (The Washhouse Boat). Ambroise Vollard, an art dealer who worked with Picasso, Van Gogh and Cézanne, among others, dedicated an exhibition to Kees in 1904.

A socialite and an anarchist, Kees regularly lent himself to caricature while at the same time denouncing social injustice. Van Dogen participated in the spread of Fauvism abroad, particularly in Germany and Russia. His production focused above all on women’s bodies, whose portraits he portrayed throughout his career. With the influence of Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh, Van Dogen no longer sketched lines, but drew coloured lines, which emphasised the emotion that colour can evoke, according to Van Gogh’s advice Portrait de la Goulue 1902.

Kees Van Dongen: Master of colour

During the 1905 Salon d’Automne, the painter exhibited two canvases whose colours he exalted while freeing himself from plastic constraints. (Self-portrait 1905, Boxing Exhibition, 1905). He was constantly in search of new combinations between colours and embodied a sort of chromatic genius among the Fauvists. Van Dogen made several trips to Egypt, Morocco and Spain in the 1910s that influenced his work. He also painted landscapes, the most compelling of which were seascapes.

The artist somewhat softened the power of the colours he applied (La femme au chapeau noir 1908) and withdrew into a softness of more naturalistic tones (Le promenoir des Folies-Bergères 1907).

This portraitist was particularly coveted at the time, especially during the “Roaring Twenties”, described as the “cocktail period” by Van Gogh, when the artist painted only for the Parisian elite, intellectuals and film stars, whose physical characteristics and clothing he exaggerated to highlight their permanent role.

In his portraits of women, Kees exaggeratedly depicts their eyes, covered in jewels (Madame Jasmy Alvin, 1925). Van Dogen also painted men such as Anatole France, who is one of the most noteworthy of his subjects. Van Dogen died in 1968 having marked and represented an entire era.

Recognising Kees Van Dongen’s signature

Like many artists, Van Dongen did not sign all of his works. However, you will find below an example of the signatures to give you an idea. Variations of these signatures do exist, do not hesitate to contact one of our experts to formally authenticate a signature.

Appraising and selling a piece by Kees Van Dongen

If you own a piece by Kees Van Dongen or any other object, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your piece. In the context of a possible sale, our specialists will also advise you on the different options available to sell your work at the best price.