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Lot Essay
There is a whirlpool-like appearance to Composition, with the smaller forms at the centre surrounded by ever-larger colour fields. This lends the work a frenetic sense of swirling movement, the fields not only juxtaposed with each other, but also seemingly moving relative to each other, creating new relationships, and indeed even spawning new forms. Despite the light colours, there is something visceral about the contrasts between the various surfaces, some matt, some gleaming, lending the painting an intriguing sensuality, a tactile quality that hints at de Staël's interest in elemental forces. The vortex-like composition, with the bold orange at the centre contrasting with the cooler greys and blues in the surrounding areas, hints at a receding realm of rich colour in the distance. This picture appears superficially similar to the works of his friend and compatriot, Serge Poliakoff, yet this similarity is limited: where Poliakoff was interested in colourism and contrasts, de Staël has created a picture that is full of pulsing energy. This is subtly accentuated by the tracery-like borders that articulate some of the colour fields, revealing that de Staël is less interested in the contrasts themselves than in the autonomous forms of this autonomous painting, this world-within-a-world, this self-creating painterly universe.
By 1949, when Composition was painted, a combination of events had conspired to introduce a great sense of light into de Staël's paintings. He now had secured French citizenship and, as a citizen, had also begun to secure favourable reviews for his pictures. He had also had epiphanies during his travels, especially to the South of France, and these had helped encourage an interest in light that would itself lead to his distinctive colourism. On a more personal front, de Staël was now a father and a husband, having married in 1946. All these events combined to banish the dark colours that had weighed down upon his paintings until only a couple of years earlier: Composition is a painting about energy, and therefore a celebration of life.
By 1949, when Composition was painted, a combination of events had conspired to introduce a great sense of light into de Staël's paintings. He now had secured French citizenship and, as a citizen, had also begun to secure favourable reviews for his pictures. He had also had epiphanies during his travels, especially to the South of France, and these had helped encourage an interest in light that would itself lead to his distinctive colourism. On a more personal front, de Staël was now a father and a husband, having married in 1946. All these events combined to banish the dark colours that had weighed down upon his paintings until only a couple of years earlier: Composition is a painting about energy, and therefore a celebration of life.