Chaim Soutine, 'The Little Pastry Chef', about 1927

Standing against a dark blue background, hands on hips and dressed in a slightly oversized double-breasted chef’s jacket and ‘toque blanche’ (chef’s hat), a young pastry chef looks at the viewer. The work is the last in a series of at least 30 portraits of young cooks, bell boys, waiters and valets – 6 of which are pastry chefs – painted by Jewish-Belarusian artist Chaim Soutine between 1919 and 1927. Within this series of hotel servants, Soutine focuses largely on the monochromatic uniforms worn by his models. The whites of the chefs’ jackets and the reds of the bellboys’ livery challenged the artist to add depth to these otherwise unvarying colours. As also seen in the current painting, Soutine laced the jackets with streaks of vibrant blues, greens, and yellows, deepening the impact of the white. The portraits of the young boys and men can be placed within the larger tradition of grand portraiture, which was historically reserved for the higher circles of society.

Soutine portrayed his first chef, later identified as Rémy Zocchetto, in 1919, while living in the French provincial town of Céret in the Pyrenees mountains close to the Spanish border. He had been sent there by his dealer, Léopold Zborowski (1889-1932), who hoped the southern landscape would stimulate Soutine’s artistic development. Living on a meagre allowance of only 5 francs per day, the artist was unable to hire professional models and resorted to portraying local residents instead. Soutine found Céret a fruitful working ground, despite being extremely homesick for Paris and often travelling back to the city. During his 3 years in the south, he developed his characteristic style of agitated brushstrokes, distorted imagery and expressive colours, for which his works would become highly sought-after upon his return to Paris. That same year, the portrait of Zocchetto was bought by American businessman and art collector Albert C. Barnes, who exclaimed upon seeing it at the gallery of art dealer Paul Guillaume: “But it’s a peach!”. Without hesitation, Barnes purchased 52 works by Soutine for his collection in Philadelphia, earning the artist his earliest success.

Soutine initially portrayed mostly chefs and pastry cooks, before focussing on the more visible front-of-house staff from 1924. As his financial situation improved, the artist was now able to afford visiting these luxury establishments as a guest, thus meeting the bellboys and waiters. He returned to the subject of the Pâtissiers for the current work in 1927, completing the series with two more portraits of young pastry chefs. The boyish appearance of the model in the current work contrasts with his swaggering pose and staged confidence, strengthened by Soutine’s expressive use of colour. Red cheeks and full lips draw our attention to his troubled gaze and remind us of the reds in the bellboy portraits. The work can be seen as a culmination of the series, exploring colour, character and composition. Shortly after completion, the painting was bought by Marcellin and Madelein Castaing, who were avid collectors of Soutine’s works and had a close relationship with the artist.