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Lot Essay
Bold and effortlessly gestural, Pierre Soulages’s Peinture 72 x 92 cm, 14 novembre 1970 confronts its viewers with dynamic strokes of thick black paint layered upon sweeping washes of muted, earthy tones. Contrasted below it on the lower half of the canvas is a blue-tinged expanse of white paint, evoking Soulages’s eternal love of the contrast between light and dark which subsequently creates an almost brooding luminescence that shines behind the strokes of black. Yet it is the black strokes of paint which dominate the composition, curving elegantly just at the moment one expects them to end, connecting each line to each other and imbuing the canvas with both structure and sense of movement.
This masterful use of black is characteristic of Soulages’s oeuvre and what has marked him as one of the preeminent painters of the twentieth century. As Peinture 72 x 92 cm, 14 novembre 1970 illustrates, in Soulages hand the color black becomes both the focal point of the composition while simultaneously serving a variety of different roles. Most notably, it provides chromatic possibilities for the other colors on the canvas, in this case by adding a contrast to the lighter hues behind it, allowing them to shine through with a luminous vibrancy.
The structure this black lends to the composition, while seemingly planned beforehand due to its effortlessness, is in fact entirely organic in its birth. Unlike Franz Kline, a contemporary of Soulages, the French artist never made preliminary sketches, instead preferring to alter the composition of his canvases as he was creating them. As Soulages himself has said, “It is what I do that teaches me what I am looking for. Painting always comes before thinking” (P. Soulage, quoted by S. Essl (ed.), Pierre Soulages: Painting the Light, Vienna, 2006, p. 10).
Soulages paintings, the present example included, are further characterized by his use of unorthodox tools. Often placing his canvases on the ground, Soulages used a knife or spatula to scrape the layer of paint while still fresh to reveal further layers underneath. Beginning in the 1950s, Soulages invented and produced a new kind of tool, known as a lame, which typically consisted of a piece of rubber stretched between two thin boards with a long handle. These tools can apply, mix and scrape off paint in one fluid motion. When not using this trademark tool, Soulages preferred large, stiff brushes that leave distinctive grooves in the surface, lending a further dynamism to the already lively strokes of black.
Soulages’s art never begins with a planned message, but there is a clear sense of purpose in each of his paintings. This purpose is revealed to its viewers in the space over time through its use of color and form, enveloping the viewer in the work.
This masterful use of black is characteristic of Soulages’s oeuvre and what has marked him as one of the preeminent painters of the twentieth century. As Peinture 72 x 92 cm, 14 novembre 1970 illustrates, in Soulages hand the color black becomes both the focal point of the composition while simultaneously serving a variety of different roles. Most notably, it provides chromatic possibilities for the other colors on the canvas, in this case by adding a contrast to the lighter hues behind it, allowing them to shine through with a luminous vibrancy.
The structure this black lends to the composition, while seemingly planned beforehand due to its effortlessness, is in fact entirely organic in its birth. Unlike Franz Kline, a contemporary of Soulages, the French artist never made preliminary sketches, instead preferring to alter the composition of his canvases as he was creating them. As Soulages himself has said, “It is what I do that teaches me what I am looking for. Painting always comes before thinking” (P. Soulage, quoted by S. Essl (ed.), Pierre Soulages: Painting the Light, Vienna, 2006, p. 10).
Soulages paintings, the present example included, are further characterized by his use of unorthodox tools. Often placing his canvases on the ground, Soulages used a knife or spatula to scrape the layer of paint while still fresh to reveal further layers underneath. Beginning in the 1950s, Soulages invented and produced a new kind of tool, known as a lame, which typically consisted of a piece of rubber stretched between two thin boards with a long handle. These tools can apply, mix and scrape off paint in one fluid motion. When not using this trademark tool, Soulages preferred large, stiff brushes that leave distinctive grooves in the surface, lending a further dynamism to the already lively strokes of black.
Soulages’s art never begins with a planned message, but there is a clear sense of purpose in each of his paintings. This purpose is revealed to its viewers in the space over time through its use of color and form, enveloping the viewer in the work.