Twice in 1906 Henri Matisse painted the same brooding young sailor in the same pose in the Mediterranean town of Collioure. Critics have always preferred Le Jeune Marin II for its flowing strokes and color. Perhaps that was because they saw little of Jeune Marin I; Matisse sold it to Gertrude Stein's brother Michael, who twelve years later sold it to a Norwegian collector. Recently Marin I surfaced at exhibitions in New York and Zurich, a prelude to auction last week at Christie's in London. There, in spirited bidding on the floor and by telephone, the oil was knocked down for...
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