The theme of the Fenêtre ouverte – the opened window - first appeared in Dufy’s work in 1920. The subject so fascinated him that he explored it again through series in both 1928 and 1938. This specific composition, frequently used by Matisse, enabled him to merge indoor and outdoor spaces. In La fenêtre ouverte the blue hues of the sea enter the room through the window and create a “path” between the intimate apartment and the infinite horizon. It is almost as if he was depicting the warm summer night air floating into the room.

The late 1930s, from when this painting dates, was a period of great success for Dufy. Exhibitions of his work were held at both the Petit Palais in Paris and the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. In 1937 he was asked to join the jury for the Carnegie prize, and undertook his monumental mural La Fée Electricité, known as the “the largest painting of all time”.