Jean Fautrier: Critical Catalogue of Paintings

Jean Fautrier (1989-1964) was a major 20th-century artist who was influenced by J.M.W. Turner. He was noticed by Jeanne Castel in 1923 and launched the "Informalist" art movement. This first-ever comprehensive annotated catalogue of his paintings includes a detailed biography, technical analyses, and authoritative scientific texts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 632 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
Publisher: Editions Norma

Jean Fautrier (1989-1964) was a major 20th-century artist. Trained at the Royal Academy of Arts and influenced by J.M.W. Turner, he was quickly noticed by the collector Jeanne Castel in 1923. At first, his style was figurative and played on contrasts of light. He expertly harnessed the essence of reality in order to transfigure it, redefining the genres of landscape painting, still lifes, and nudes (especially in his series of dark works) during the inter-war period. A few years later, his approach underwent a radical shift and became much more abstract. He launched the "Informalist" art movement, playing with pictorial materials and combining different substances to create visions of an extraordinary material quality. Close to the great intellectual figures of his time, including Jean Paulhan, Paul Éluard, Francis Ponge, René Char, and André Malraux, Fautrier never ceased producing remarkably powerful and politically resonant works, as is attested by his major series Otages (1943-1945), Objets (1947-1948), and Partisans (1956). In 1960, he was awarded the first prize for painting at the Venice Biennale. Boasting an exceptionally exhaustive iconography, this first-ever comprehensive annotated catalogue of Jean Fautrier's paintings includes the technique, origin, exhibitions, and bibliography for each work. It is supplemented with a detailed biography, technical analyses, and authoritative scientific texts, as well as transcriptions of interviews and radio broadcasts from Fautrier's time.

Jean Fautrier (1989-1964) was a major 20th-century artist. Trained at the Royal Academy of Arts and influenced by J.M.W. Turner, he was quickly noticed by the collector Jeanne Castel in 1923. At first, his style was figurative and played on contrasts of light. He expertly harnessed the essence of reality in order to transfigure it, redefining the genres of landscape painting, still lifes, and nudes (especially in his series of dark works) during the inter-war period. A few years later, his approach underwent a radical shift and became much more abstract. He launched the "Informalist" art movement, playing with pictorial materials and combining different substances to create visions of an extraordinary material quality. Close to the great intellectual figures of his time, including Jean Paulhan, Paul Éluard, Francis Ponge, René Char, and André Malraux, Fautrier never ceased producing remarkably powerful and politically resonant works, as is attested by his major series Otages (1943-1945), Objets (1947-1948), and Partisans (1956). In 1960, he was awarded the first prize for painting at the Venice Biennale. Boasting an exceptionally exhaustive iconography, this first-ever comprehensive annotated catalogue of Jean Fautrier's paintings includes the technique, origin, exhibitions, and bibliography for each work. It is supplemented with a detailed biography, technical analyses, and authoritative scientific texts, as well as transcriptions of interviews and radio broadcasts from Fautrier's time.

Weight: 4046g
Dimension: 259 x 315 x 48 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9782376660729