The Studio on Rue Séguier - Raoul Dufy

A characteristically fluid interior scene by Raoul Dufy, depicting his Paris studio with a seated nude and a view of the city rooftops.

Raoul Dufy, a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement, produced this interior scene during his time in Paris. The composition captures the artist's workspace on Rue Séguier, a location that appears in several of his works from the late 1920s. Dufy employs a characteristic approach to perspective, where the walls of the room seem to tilt and expand, creating a sense of spatial fluidity rather than rigid architectural accuracy.

The painting features a central figure of a seated nude, positioned within the confines of the studio. To the left, an easel holds a blank canvas, while a table in the foreground displays painting materials. A large window dominates the right side of the frame, offering a view of the Parisian rooftops beyond. This juxtaposition of the private, domestic interior with the external urban environment is a recurring theme in Dufy's work.

His application of paint is fluid and light, allowing the underlying canvas texture to remain visible in certain areas. The colour palette relies on deep greens for the walls, which contrast with the warmer, golden tones of the figure and the furniture. The blue of the sky visible through the window provides a cool balance to the composition. Dufy avoids heavy outlines, preferring to define forms through colour blocks and quick, gestural brushwork. This method conveys a sense of spontaneity and immediacy, typical of his mature style. The work provides a glimpse into the daily environment of the artist, documenting the tools and the atmosphere of his creative process without resorting to overly formal or staged arrangements. The tilted floorboards and the distorted angles of the room reflect his interest in how the eye perceives space, rather than how a camera might record it.