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Lot Essay
‘[Soulages] surrenders himself to a kind of dance. Between each application of paint (black), he takes four steps back, four steps forward, which puts the whole body in play, even the arm that draws in advance the movement of the brush (or even the sole of a shoe) on the canvas, and even his torso which leans, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left’
(R. Vailland, ‘Comment travaille Pierre Soulages’, in L’Oeil, no. 77, May 1961, p. 46).
‘Black, I’ve always loved. [...] It has always been the foundation of my palette. It is the absence of colour the most intense, the most violent, which gives an intense and violent presence in the colours, even white, as a tree makes the sky blue’
(P. Soulages, quoted in P. Schneider, ‘The Louvre Soulages’, in Evidence, no. 143, June 1963, p. 46-53).
Pierre Soulages’ paintings pulsate with barely-concealed light and energy. In Peinture 73 x 54 cm, 28 mai 1954, between the bold bars of black paint that cover much of the surface, there is the sense of glowing crimson, glimpsed as if through a veil. The canvas is dominated by the dark tranches of glistening paint, introducing a faint play of light through the reflections. Meanwhile, colours verging on yellow and white peek through the thick swathes of dark paint that dominate the composition. The expanses of black create new possibilities for other colours, in this case by adding contrast to the red, making it appear luminously vibrant. As Soulages explains, ‘Black, I’ve always loved. [...] It has always been the foundation of my palette. It is the absence of colour the most intense, the most violent, which gives an intense and violent presence in the colours, even white, as a tree makes the sky blue’ (P. Soulages, quoted in P. Schneider, ‘The Louvre Soulages’, in Evidence, no. 143, June 1963, p. 46-53). The overall effect is like twilight, capturing the infinite potential of those small yet potent glimmers of colour against the night-like canopy that covers so much of the picture surface.
Soulages’ work recalls the practice of his American contemporary, Franz Kline, who claimed that despite having a full range of colours on his palette while he worked, it was still black and white that suggested themselves to him. The similarity Kline’s Abstract Expressionist oeuvre is striking yet is ultimately only superficial, as the concerns and processes of both painters remain strides apart, as indeed does the finished effect of their works. Kline often used sketches in order to create preordained compositions, whereas Soulages responded moment by moment, stroke by stroke, to the organic situation that resulted in his artwork. ‘My painting does not tell the story of my dance,’ Soulages explained to Vailland. ‘I cover and discover the surfaces. I do not draw lines where the people looking at my picture will once more find the movements of my hand... I am telling nothing’ (P. Soulages, quoted in S. Kuthy (ed.), Pierre Soulages: Celébration de la lumière, exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Berne, 1999, 1961, p. 72).
(R. Vailland, ‘Comment travaille Pierre Soulages’, in L’Oeil, no. 77, May 1961, p. 46).
‘Black, I’ve always loved. [...] It has always been the foundation of my palette. It is the absence of colour the most intense, the most violent, which gives an intense and violent presence in the colours, even white, as a tree makes the sky blue’
(P. Soulages, quoted in P. Schneider, ‘The Louvre Soulages’, in Evidence, no. 143, June 1963, p. 46-53).
Pierre Soulages’ paintings pulsate with barely-concealed light and energy. In Peinture 73 x 54 cm, 28 mai 1954, between the bold bars of black paint that cover much of the surface, there is the sense of glowing crimson, glimpsed as if through a veil. The canvas is dominated by the dark tranches of glistening paint, introducing a faint play of light through the reflections. Meanwhile, colours verging on yellow and white peek through the thick swathes of dark paint that dominate the composition. The expanses of black create new possibilities for other colours, in this case by adding contrast to the red, making it appear luminously vibrant. As Soulages explains, ‘Black, I’ve always loved. [...] It has always been the foundation of my palette. It is the absence of colour the most intense, the most violent, which gives an intense and violent presence in the colours, even white, as a tree makes the sky blue’ (P. Soulages, quoted in P. Schneider, ‘The Louvre Soulages’, in Evidence, no. 143, June 1963, p. 46-53). The overall effect is like twilight, capturing the infinite potential of those small yet potent glimmers of colour against the night-like canopy that covers so much of the picture surface.
Soulages’ work recalls the practice of his American contemporary, Franz Kline, who claimed that despite having a full range of colours on his palette while he worked, it was still black and white that suggested themselves to him. The similarity Kline’s Abstract Expressionist oeuvre is striking yet is ultimately only superficial, as the concerns and processes of both painters remain strides apart, as indeed does the finished effect of their works. Kline often used sketches in order to create preordained compositions, whereas Soulages responded moment by moment, stroke by stroke, to the organic situation that resulted in his artwork. ‘My painting does not tell the story of my dance,’ Soulages explained to Vailland. ‘I cover and discover the surfaces. I do not draw lines where the people looking at my picture will once more find the movements of my hand... I am telling nothing’ (P. Soulages, quoted in S. Kuthy (ed.), Pierre Soulages: Celébration de la lumière, exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Berne, 1999, 1961, p. 72).