Dubuffet did no printmaking between 1954 and 1958 during which time he experimented in both painting and sculpture. The first prints of 1958 present a more angular version of the Assemblages, this time using other lithographs rather than natural objects as the raw material. Having decided that this was a course which he wished to pursue, Dubuffet began work on the series Les Phénomènes. Here Dubuffet created his own textural vocabulary which in time would be used to produce more assemblages. The artist strove to produce a depiction of natural and scientific phenomena within a carefully rectangular space which adds to the feeling of microscopic observation: the artist as scientist and observer rather than Romantic.
JEAN DUBUFFET

Details
JEAN DUBUFFET

Pierre Volboudt, Les Assemblages de Jean Dubuffet, Paris, Fernand Hazan, 1958 (see Webel, Vol. I, p. 123)

title page, justification and text, on wove paper, copy 86 from the total edition of 770 (copies 1-50 with an original lithograph in colors; copies 51-750 as here; plus 20 hors-commerce), the full sheets, loose, as issued, photolithographic wrapper, sleeve and slipcase, in good condition. 335 x 243mm.

Lot Essay

Copies 1-50 contained an impression of Le promeneur (W. 395). An example of this print is offered in the next lot.