Otto van Rees (1884–1957)
Portrait of Guusje van Dongen
Signed and annotated Madame v. Dongen lower right
1929
Colored pencil on paper
34 x 38 cm
Framed

Condition:
In very good condition, showing minimal signs of aging.

Exhibitions:
Hoensbroek, Galerie De Sloof, Otto van Rees, January 23 – February 21, 1965, cat. no. 27;
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Otto and Adya van Rees, July 12 – August 24, 1975;
Utrecht, Galerie Quintessens, Otto van Rees (1884–1957): Paintings, Drawings, February 27 – March 31, 1990;
Laren, Singer Museum, Otto van Rees. 1884–1957: Explorer of Modernism, January 31 – April 27, 2003;

Literature:
L. Grijns, E. van Faassen, J. de Raad, S. van Faassen & I. Lesparre, Otto van Rees, Zwolle (Waanders) 2005, p. 33, no. 369.
Exhibition catalog, Otto van Rees and Ayda van Rees (Centraal Museum Utrecht/Haags Gemeentemuseum) 1975, p. 107.

Provenance:
Collection Kuitenbrouwer-van Rees, family of the artist;
Private collection, Rob van Vuure, 2016.

Additional Information:
In this evocative portrait, Otto van Rees depicts Juliana Augusta Preitlinger (Guusje) van Dongen (1878–1946), the first wife of Kees van Dongen. With soft, rhythmic lines and nuanced use of color, he captures her likeness. The averted gaze and restrained body language suggest a moment of introspection, lending the portrait a quiet psychological depth.

The color palette is sparingly but effectively applied: ochre yellow, blue, and reddish-brown accentuate the face, hair, and clothing, while simultaneously creating a subtle tension between form and surface. The background is barely worked out, drawing full attention to the model’s expression and posture. The result is a restrained yet modern portrait, characteristic of Van Rees’s Paris period, during which he navigated between Expressionism and a personal variant of Cubism.