2023
Balthus painted La Patience (1948) during the Second World War in Fribourg,
Switzerland, beginning work on the painting in 1943 before revisiting it between
1946 and 1948. During this period of his career, Balthus often devoted extended
time to refining his compositions, according to Sharon Kim, Sotheby’s deputy
chairman for Modern art. The painting depicts his model Jeanette Aldry—older than
many of his young models in Paris, Sotheby’s materials note—playing a game of
solitaire, marking the first time Balthus explored card games in his work. The artist’s
use of dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and reference to the passage of time with the
inclusion of an extinguished candle in the painting nod to Old Master painters,
according to Sotheby’s.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/10/06/balthus-painting-deaccessioned-art-
institute-chicago-sothebys-auction
When the AIC acquired La Patience in 1964 directly from Balthus’s dealer Pierre
Matisse (son of Henri) in New York, it was the only work by Balthus in the collection.
The painting has not been on display in the galleries in nearly a decade, the
museum's spokesperson said, though it has been lent out extensively for exhibitions
(the painting is currently on display at Sotheby’s showroom in Hong Kong).
