Oil on canvas

74 × 131 cm. 29 1/8 × 51 5/8 in.

Signed in French and dated on bottom right; titled and signed in French on the stretcher
PROVENANCE
Georges Mathieu Foundation, Paris
Galerie Perrotin, Paris
Acquire directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Note: A label from Galerie Perrotin, Paris is affixed on the reverse

Magnificent Years of Glory and Dreams
Georges Mathieu's Masterpiece in the 1980s Palmyre Shines in the Autumn Auction

In the wave of abstract art after World War II, Georges Mathieu, as the "father of lyrical abstraction", was undoubtedly the leading star of enlightenment. He advocated lyrical abstraction spirit with his intuitive creation, which expresses the liberation of abstract art from geometric concepts. He revealed the evolution of abstract symbols and images with Oriental calligraphic characteristics in a new form. His achievements extended to applied art practices and are recorded in art history for their far-reaching impressiveness. Mathieu was praised as the "Calligrapher of the West" by André Malraux, the first French Minister of Culture. In 17 countries worldwide, nearly 100 authoritative art museums collect Mathieu's works, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Mathieu has been praised as the greatest Contemporary French artist since Picasso.

The First Presence of Work from the Brilliant Peak in the 1980s

Although he became famous at a young age, Mathieu's creative style had a huge change in the 1980s, later known as the Cosmic Period. His series during this period can be called unparalleled in aspects of uniqueness, explosive power, sense of speed, and rendering tension. According to Mathieu: 50 ans de création, this period is praised as the best interpretation of the global turmoil at that time. Around the same time, Clement Greenberg, a famous American critic, called Matthew "the most important European painter". In this autumn auction, we present the artist's masterpiece Palmyre, painted in 1983, to witness another brilliant peak of his creation.

An Oasis in the Desert on the Silk Road

In 1983, Mathieu was invited to Bahrain to hold a solo exhibition and travelled to the Middle East and Syria to draw inspiration for his work. Palmyre, which we present this autumn, takes its name from a significant ancient city in central Syria. Palmyra is the only oasis in the wilderness, called "desert oasis" in ancient Greek. It was the most prosperous and culturally rich city on the old Silk Road. Since ancient times, it connected Persia, India, China and Rome and became a major trading and economic hub. When Mathieu travelled here, there is no doubt that he was affected by the intense atmosphere of ancient civilization revealed by the ancient city of Palmyra, so he naturally painted this imposing painting of Palmyre, which brings the magnificent palace of the past back, and also recalls the glory and dream of an ancient civilization.

The Wild Brush Brings the Passion of Fire

Palmyre takes the brick-red monochrome, a symbol of the desert, as the background, with bright red and black colours as the main body, depicting the shape of the city-state through organic lines. Mathieu was adept at painting quickly, applying strips of colour directly onto the canvas from a paint tube and applying them with fluid strokes with a strong sense of spontaneity. With the cadence of a Chinese cursive script, he let Palmyra's stately peak reappear in a poetic style.

A Romantic Homage

Mathieu never made a draft when painting. He saturated his brush with paint and let the canvas faithfully record the flow of colour as it moved. This subconscious automaticity technique predates Jackson Pollock's drip technique. Giving a comprehensive view of the whole area, the work visually presents an "expansion" from inside to outside -- the condensation and compression of multiple colour blocks in the centre of the painting make the visual contraction. It reflects the artist's astonishment when seeing the scene during the journey and salutes the glory of ancient Rome.

Mathieu was like a scientist and created a unique art that reflects life's theory. His works have an incredible feeling of speed, renovation and creation to start a "revolution". His paintings are like a sword, or a melody, strutting in the precipitation of history, leaving the glory of life and immortality as the devout praise to the ancient city of Palmyra - that its former glory shines upon today, lighting up the only oasis in the desert!

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,200,000 - 2,000,000
USD: 152,900 - 254,800

Auction Result:
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