Grand nu, 1962

About the Work

The title is clear beyond doubt: however abstract his work, the artist’s sole concern was with reality. Delicate colours encounter vigorous dark brushstrokes in a brittle, relief-like centre. The founder of Informel began by gluing handmade paper onto the canvas, to which he applied extremely thick, light-hued paint in the middle, and then dark hues of a thinner consistency. Finally, he dusted the surface with pink pigments, which contrast with the coarse ground. Its extreme materiality makes the work seem more an object than a painting.