Lot 506 D

As one of the leading figures of Tachisme, the French painter Georges Mathieu influenced a trend, 'Lyrical Abstraction', within the Tachisme movement, which is characteristic of spontaneity, velocity and the unknown, of imagination and risk. In the search for new forms of expression, Mathieu experimented with painting techniques and 'drippings' were the result ­- in which he dripped liquid paint onto the canvas - or works in which he applied the paint directly with his fingers. As in the present work 'Redorte', the 'Tubisme' - a relief-like application of paint directly from the tube onto the canvas which was uncharacteristic of his works until then ­- became one of his favoured means of expression. This technique reflects his pursuit of unadulterated quality which he hoped to achieve with this spontaneous and intuitive execution and which expresses his innermost soul. The painting process was of such great importance to the artist that, from 1957 onwards, he repeatedly staged the development process of large-scale paintings in front of an audience. His working method is reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy, its most important principles being, among other things, concentration, improvisation, and velocity.
'It is the emptiness that constitutes freedom.' (Georges Mathieu, 1947, in: Galerie Schmela (ed.), Mathieu. Einladung zur Eröffnung der Ausstellung am 4. Juni 1965, Galerie Schmela. Düsseldorf 1965, p.2). This principle of Mathieu's distinctive language of form is also conveyed in the present work. By setting the scene for his painter's outburst through the emptiness on the canvas and the elimination of all figurative forms, he gives the observer the freedom to fill the painting with content through self-interpretation and intuition. It is only this type of involvement, which makes it possible for the observer to approach Mathieu's artistic statements and thoughts. For Mathieu, painting is a motif '[…] to scream, to talk, to express a drama that is mine and that of all people'. (Georges Mathieu, in Galerie Lauter (ed.), Georges Mathieu, exhibition catalogue, Mannheim 1980, p.2)