Regarded as a national treasure in France, Georges Mathieu held a large-scale retrospective in 1978 at the Grand Palais in Paris. For this exhibition, Mathieu selected important works from the previous fifteen years and also created seven large new paintings, including Tuz Gölü (Lot 1043), which measures 2.5 metres high and 6 metres wide. The work shows his confidence in the post-war abstract movement he helped to shape. As for Mathieu’s series of seven works, its importance in the story of modern art is evidenced by the immense value placed on the paintings by top museums and collectors in the market. From the series, Batoumi was added to the collection at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2015, and Souvenir de la maison d’Autriche set a new global auction record in 2020. In a 2000 article from French magazine Le point, a critic lauded Mathieu as “a hurricane of painting”, an apt description for the shock wave that his Grand Palais exhibition sent through the French art world.

After Mathieu’s show at the Grand Palais, Tuz Gölü appeared in eight important exhibitions of the artist’s career, including shows at the Palais des Papes, Avignon (1985), the Petit Écurie du Chateau de Versailles (2006), Nahmad Contemporary, New York (2019), and K11 MUSEA, Hong Kong (2021). This is a masterpiece worthy of a national art museum.

Although the compositions of Mathieu’s works were abstract, the titles often refer to historical events, people, or places. Tuz Gölü takes its name from Turkey’s second-largest saltwater lake. In the painting, the abstract brushwork highlights the boundless white saltwater lake, which appears to be surrounded by a tangle of calligraphic ink lines, creating a spontaneous yet symbolic image. The black and white seem to intertwine, delineating an architectural, horizontal form that echoes the exterior of L’Usine Étoile, which Mathieu designed for Fontenay-le-Comte in the early 1970s. This painting reflects the artist’s ability to synthesize multiple sources into a rich, layered composition.

Ink lines divide the red and blue that surround this pure white saltwater lake, creating a binary image of the sky above and the earth below. The red, white, and blue refer to the tricolours of the French flag, corresponding to the founding principles of the Enlightenment: liberty, equality, and fraternity. In 1976, Mathieu was named to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Two years later, when he was given the opportunity to hold an exhibition at the Grand Palais, Mathieu would have certainly wanted each selected work in the show to advance French post-war art and culture. Looking closely, the knot of ink lines on the left side of the painting forms a shape resembling France – likely an intentional choice by the artist. It perfectly embodies Mathieu’s profound sense of national pride expressed through his large canvases and collectively through major exhibitions. Tuz Gölü is a work bursting with patriotism, and stands as an important masterwork of post-war French art.

1978年，喬治・馬修以國寶級大師的姿態，在巴黎大皇宮舉行大型回顧展，其藝術事業亦隨之推往盛世巔峰，充滿爆發力的畫風席捲戰後藝壇，成就最具時代氣息的輝煌圖騰。為了是次展覽，馬修不僅精挑細選過往十五年來的重要作品，更一氣呵成創作了七幅全新巨型畫作，當中即包括高達兩米半、寬達六米之本拍品《圖茲鹽湖》（拍品編號1043），無疑展現了其掌舵戰後抽象浪潮的自信與野心；七幅巨作之一的《Batoumi》，更在2015年被巴黎蓬皮杜中心永久收藏，足證此系列在世界頂尖館藏的現代美術論述中佔據重要地位，而另一幅《憶哈布斯堡王朝》則於2020年創下全球拍賣紀錄，可見此系列在藝術市場上同樣極具收藏價值。當年的藝論家更在法國人氣雜誌《觀點》裡，推崇馬修為「畫壇的颶風」，並以此形容該次展覽直向法國藝術界投下了震撼彈，迴響不絕。

在巴黎大皇宮的展覽完成後，《圖茲鹽湖》參與了馬修藝術生涯八次重要展覽，足跡遍佈歐洲、美洲及亞洲，包括1985年阿維尼翁教皇宮殿，2006年凡爾賽宮小馬廄、2019年紐約納哈邁德當代畫廊，以及2021年香港K11 MUSEA等多個全球性項目，堪稱國家美術館級別的典藏鉅作。

自五〇年代起，馬修已純熟運用其善於駕馭巨大畫幅的優勢，從不作草稿的他追求具節奏與力量的情感抒發，將作畫過程化為即興的行為藝術，不僅啟發了遠在日本的具體派，亦為美國的「偶發藝術」埋下伏筆。馬修的畫面構成雖為抽象，題旨卻多與歷史、人物或地方相關，如本年春季呈獻之《向華鐸致敬》，即以五米巨幅盡訴對洛可可大師之無垠敬意。《圖茲鹽湖》以位在土耳其安卡拉地區、世界第二大的鹽湖「圖茲」命名，讓觀者的聯想往大自然奇觀的方向放飛。馬修利用狂野的抽象之筆，大片渲染著鹽湖白茫茫宛如仙境的景色，一連串墨黑的書法線條則圍繞著畫面中心的鹽湖，時而激昂地飛舞、時而輕快地繞圈，營造出一幕看似即興又頗有隱喻的符號性曲譜。乍看之下，黑白雙色在畫面中心的交織，勾勒出一道水平線的建築輪廓，與馬修於七〇年代初所設計、位於豐特奈-勒-孔泰「星型工廠」外形遙相呼應，體現藝術家巧妙地融合多源素材，成就層次豐富的巨幅構圖。

饒富趣味的是，墨黑線條將純白鹽湖四周的紅、藍兩色分割，造成天上地下的二元畫面；於此，本作的構成已超越了對自然造化的借鑒與致敬，其紅、白、藍色的組合，明確地指向法國國旗的顔色，更象徵了法國民族所秉持的三種崇高的人文精神：自由、平等和博愛。馬修於1976年獲得法蘭西學院美術院士的終身榮譽頭銜，兩年後即獲得在巴黎大皇宮舉辦展覽的機會，化身弘揚法國戰後藝術與文化的領袖使者，藝術家無疑希望其展出的作品能夠充分表達此番對國家竭盡忠誠的本心。仔細再看，畫幅左邊的墨黑線條奮力交錯，形成一個與法國領土地圖相若的形體，相信亦非偶然。綜合以上解讀，《圖茲鹽湖》是一幅飽含愛國情懷的作品，完美體現馬修如何透過巨幅畫布及大型畫展，大力宣揚及凝聚民族自豪感，成就戰後法國藝術史上不可或缺的時代鉅獻。