Pierre Soulages

Laing Gallery, Toronto
Galerie Godard-Lefort, Montréal
Vente: Sotheby Parke Bernet, Londres, 2 décembre 1982, lot 324
Galerie Marwan Hoss, Paris
Collection particulière, Europe

Pierre Encrevé, Soulages, l'Oeuvre Complet, Volume II, Peintures 1959-1978, Paris, 1995, p.84, no.453, illustré

The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration although the red is deeper in the original work, less orange. The work is executed on its original canvas and is not relined. Very minor wears on the top left and right corners as well as on the edges are only visible under very close inspection. Under Ultra Violet light inspection, there is no evidence of retouching. This work is in very good condition.
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Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 est une toile magistrale qui date d’une période majeure dans l’œuvre de Pierre Soulages. À la fin des années 1950, Soulages a acquis une reconnaissance internationale et l’artiste est invité à participer à de nombreuses expositions en Europe et aux Etats-Unis comme la vingt-sixième Biennale de Venise de 1952, l’exposition au Musée Guggenheim de New York en 1953 et 1959 ou celle du Stedelijk Museum d’Amsterdam en 1957.

 

Tout au long des années 1950 et 1960, le contraste de ses œuvres s’accentue progressivement et les balayages de peintures sont de plus en plus puissants. Pierre Soulages redéfinit sa palette de couleur, l’affine et la concentre sur l’utilisation du noir qui peut désormais absorber la totalité de la surface de la toile. Utilisant des brosses et des planches de bois, le peintre applique sa peinture en rythme et balaye la toile. Le même mouvement qui répand la peinture sur la surface vers l’avant, l’étale et la lisse sur l’arrière - une innovation unique.

 

Testament de la quintessence de l'œuvre de Soulages, Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 résume parfaitement la dualité de la texture et la couleur que l'artiste a exploré radicalement tout au long des années 1950 et 1960. Les empâtements épais et profonds du noir se détachent un fond un d’un rouge vif dans une toile aux nuances et intensités de couleur variables selon la pression exercée par l’artiste sur son outil de travail.

Cette œuvre traduit spectaculairement le travail de Soulages sur les oppositions, du rouge contre le noir, des mouvements horizontaux et des diagonales qui fusionnent dans cette composition rythmée.

 

Grâce à l’utilisation de la couleur rouge, Soulages illumine la toile d’une lumière vive, violente et chaude exaltée par le noir des balayages; la puissance visuelle de la peinture crée un sentiment d’espace. Seulement une quinzaine d’œuvres de l’artiste présentent ce rouge particulier, conférant à chacune de ces toiles une importance unique. Certaines œuvres de cette série appartiennent d’ailleurs aux collections permanentes des plus grands musées d’art du XXème siècle comme l’Art Institute de Chicago ou l’Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

 

Dramatiquement intense et totalement captivante, Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 illustre parfaitement la puissance de la peinture gestuelle et lyrique qui anime la surface de la toile et se confronte aux balayages précis exécutés par l’artiste.

 

Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 is a magistral painting dating from one of the most significant periods of Pierre Soulages’ artistic career, a period when his dynamic lyrical abstraction was gaining increasing critical acclaim. By the end of the 1950s, Soulages had achieved international recognition, having prominently exhibited in group shows and galleries throughout Europe and America such as the 26^th Venice Biennale in 1952, The Solomong R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1953 and 1959 and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1957.

Throughout the late 50s and into the 60s, his works grew in contrast and were dominated by the increasingly powerful sweeps of paint. Soulages concentrated and refined his meticulous palette and in particular his use of black, which would eventually absorb the entirety of the surface of his works. Using builder’s brushes and wooden lames, he rhythmically applied sweeping colours on the surface of the canvas. The same movement that nourishes colour brutally sweeps it away – an incomparable innovation.

Testament to the quintessence of Soulages’ work, Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 perfectly encapsulates the duality of texture and colour that the artist so adamantly explored throughout the 50s and 60s. Lavishly thick impastos of profound black adorn the canvas, tinged with the striking red of the background, resulting in a superbly multifaceted and stunningly dramatic painting– different colour intensities resurface depending on the pressure applied by the artist. The work brilliantly conveys a sense of striking dichotomies and oppositions, horizontal and diagonal movements have fused to create this pulsing, rhythmic composition. Through his use of red, Soulages develops a vivid light, violent and warm, elated by the black; the visual potency of the paint explores and conveys a sense of space. Only around 15 works depict this unique red, making each of them works of fundamental importance. Indeed, some of these magnificent works are part of the permanent collection of institutions like The Aldrich Museum or the Art Institute in Chicago.

Intensely dramatic and completely engrossing, Peinture 46 x 38 cm, 14 mai 1961 perfectly exemplifies the strong gestural nature of the paint surface within Soulages’ work contrasted with his deliberate method - each sweep is irrevocably placed with authoritative precision.

CAPTION FULL DOUBLE PAGE BLACK AND WHITE

Zao Wou-Ki et Pierre Soulages jouant au Go, Tokyo 1958 (c) D.R.

CAPTION TWO IMAGES

Soulages, Peinture 130.2 x 162.6 cm, 17 mars 1960, Art Institute Chicago (c) D.R.

Soulages, Peinture 81 x 65 cm, 21 septembre 1961, Musée Fabre, Montpellier (c) D.R.