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Lot Essay
In 1928 Vieira da Silva arrived in Paris from her native Portugal. At an exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit, she saw the checkered tablecloths in Pierre Bonnard's paintings and was drawn to the artist's use of pattern and color. The artist had previously been admired works by artists such as Piranesi and was intrigued by Renaissance perspective. As a result, tight compartments and dizzying spatial relations became strong devices in her paintings. Vieira da Silva created visual labyrinths which draw the viewer's gaze on a meandering path with an infinite number of entrances, exits and, quite often, an equal number of dead-ends which spur one to continue the intellectual journey.
The Bibliothèque series, which Vieira da Silva began in 1949, represents the development of the artist's mature oeuvre. These works retain the strong structural elements that define so much of her work while developing word play within her artistic vocabulary. These new works included the actual presence of text within her paintings as well as associative titles that Vieira da Silva applied to them.
Rich in color with tightly woven brushstrokes, the present work offers an affront to three-dimentionality. Vieira da Silva's composition and concentrated color palate of warm red and orange hues serves to deprive the work of a traditional horizon line and perspective. Bibliothèque's brick-like pattern consumes space and defies the conventions of foreground and background. The artist's choice of title, however, invites contemplation and research of the complex matrix. Jacques Lassaigne notes, "C'est alors qu'elle peignit des villes qui étaient de "Bibliothèques", des bibliothèques qui étaient de "Chantiers", des chantiers qui étaient des "Cataclysmes" (J. Lassaigne, Vieira da Silva, 1987, p. 10).
The Bibliothèque series, which Vieira da Silva began in 1949, represents the development of the artist's mature oeuvre. These works retain the strong structural elements that define so much of her work while developing word play within her artistic vocabulary. These new works included the actual presence of text within her paintings as well as associative titles that Vieira da Silva applied to them.
Rich in color with tightly woven brushstrokes, the present work offers an affront to three-dimentionality. Vieira da Silva's composition and concentrated color palate of warm red and orange hues serves to deprive the work of a traditional horizon line and perspective. Bibliothèque's brick-like pattern consumes space and defies the conventions of foreground and background. The artist's choice of title, however, invites contemplation and research of the complex matrix. Jacques Lassaigne notes, "C'est alors qu'elle peignit des villes qui étaient de "Bibliothèques", des bibliothèques qui étaient de "Chantiers", des chantiers qui étaient des "Cataclysmes" (J. Lassaigne, Vieira da Silva, 1987, p. 10).