About the artwork
Created in 1979, Paysage Loire is part of Olivier Debré's emblematic research into abstract landscape and the notion of the "landscape-sign". The composition is dominated by broad flat tints of intense blue, crossed by vertical and oblique gestures of luminous white, evoking the reflections of water and the atmospheric variations of the river. The broad, almost calligraphic brushstrokes convey a feeling rather than a description, in keeping with Debré's desire to capture the emotion of the landscape rather than its literal representation. The contrast between the deep blue and the white reserves creates a powerful visual rhythm, where the material seems to vibrate. The work belongs to the mature period in which Debré explores the Loire as a sensitive territory, a space of light and flux. Note the presence of a stain visible in the lower part of the sheet, as shown in the photographs. This alteration, located at the bottom of the support, does not affect the overall reading of the composition, but should be noted.
Expert opinion
This lithograph from 1979 bears witness to Olivier Debré's period of achievement, when the landscape becomes a field of pure energy. The Loire, a recurrent motif in his work, is no longer a geographical site, but a mental and sensory space. The work's inclusion in the catalog raisonné under no. 379 confirms its authenticity and importance within the artist's engraved output. Debré's prints occupy a significant place in his body of work, extending his pictorial research into another medium while retaining their intensity and monumentality. The presence of a stain on the lower part of the print is a condition factor to be taken into account in the appraisal, without calling into question the aesthetic and historical quality of the piece. In the context of the market, the lithographs from this period, referenced in the catalog raisonné, are of definite heritage interest to a collector sensitive to French lyrical abstraction of the second half of the 20th century.
About the artist
Born in Paris in 1920 and died in June 1999, Olivier Debré was a painter belonging to the lyrical abstraction movement. Before devoting himself to painting in the 1940s, he studied architecture at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris in the studio of his uncle Jacques Debat-Ponsan. For him, architecture was an extension of art. He attended Le Corbusier's studio in parallel with his studies, and befriended Pablo Picasso in 1941, a friendship that would influence his work. Today considered a major player in lyrical abstraction, he is internationally recognized, and his work is included in major collections (Strasbourg, Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain; Paris, Musée national d'Art moderne, Centre Pompidou; Rio de Janeiro, Museu de Arte moderna; Amman, The Jordan Museum; Taipei, Taipei Museum of Fine Arts; Cardiff, Fine Arts Museum...). His paintings inspired the ballet "Signes" conceived by choreographer Carolyn Carlso and presented at the Opéra Bastille in 2003.
Additional info
Signed
Dated
Framed
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