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Lot Essay
Samy Kinge has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
With its enigmatic central figure and mystical atmosphere, Femme solaire embodies Victor Brauner’s highly individual, polymorphous vision, which made his paintings some of the most striking explorations of myth within the Surrealist group. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural traditions and esoteric practices, Brauner used his art to delve in to the mysterious realms of a world beyond the visible, accessible through the ‘inner eye’ he believed he possessed. His father’s intense passion for spiritualism had exposed the artist to theories of mysticism from an early age, with Brauner participating in the séances of famous mediums throughout his childhood. These experiences encouraged him to develop a strong interest in magic, prophecy and the occult, which was further enhanced by the artist’s studies of tarot, ancient mythology and religion.
Painted in 1940, just before the artist was forced into hiding to escape persecution by the Vichy government, Femme solaire explores several of these themes, creating an image rich with symbolic, mystical content. At the centre of the composition, an enigmatic female figure floats through a darkened space, her head enveloped by the swirling, fiery aura of a sun. Drawing on numerous visual representations of female solar deities from various cultures, this celestial entity becomes a composite, archetypal being, rather than representing any individual mythological figure. An anthropomorphic blue flower clasped in her left hand gazes out melancholically from the canvas, while a coiling serpentine creature floats in mid-air alongside her. Imbuing the composition with a fantastic, dreamlike quality, these elements combine to create a complex dialogue of symbolic associations, which enhance the mysterious nature of the scene.
With its enigmatic central figure and mystical atmosphere, Femme solaire embodies Victor Brauner’s highly individual, polymorphous vision, which made his paintings some of the most striking explorations of myth within the Surrealist group. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural traditions and esoteric practices, Brauner used his art to delve in to the mysterious realms of a world beyond the visible, accessible through the ‘inner eye’ he believed he possessed. His father’s intense passion for spiritualism had exposed the artist to theories of mysticism from an early age, with Brauner participating in the séances of famous mediums throughout his childhood. These experiences encouraged him to develop a strong interest in magic, prophecy and the occult, which was further enhanced by the artist’s studies of tarot, ancient mythology and religion.
Painted in 1940, just before the artist was forced into hiding to escape persecution by the Vichy government, Femme solaire explores several of these themes, creating an image rich with symbolic, mystical content. At the centre of the composition, an enigmatic female figure floats through a darkened space, her head enveloped by the swirling, fiery aura of a sun. Drawing on numerous visual representations of female solar deities from various cultures, this celestial entity becomes a composite, archetypal being, rather than representing any individual mythological figure. An anthropomorphic blue flower clasped in her left hand gazes out melancholically from the canvas, while a coiling serpentine creature floats in mid-air alongside her. Imbuing the composition with a fantastic, dreamlike quality, these elements combine to create a complex dialogue of symbolic associations, which enhance the mysterious nature of the scene.