PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Paris
Sotheby’s Paris, December 4, 2014, lot 160
Private collection, Asia

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Georges Mathieu Committee.

NOBILITY AFTER THE WAR

Georges Mathieu was born in 1921 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, on the opposite side of the channel from England, and grew up during the century’s great wars of 1919 to 1939. It was a time when France was conquering, prideful, and invasive, when the French colonial empire still enjoyed an era of prosperity. Born into a family of bankers, Mathieu's intense study of literature, law, and philosophy became the foundation of the high spirituality which marked his later works. He began his artistic journey in 1942, and thereupon abandoned a path in figurative art. In 1947, he held his first public exhibition. It was there that he broke down the geometric abstractions of Marevich and Mondrian and created his first lyrical abstract art. During Charles de Gaulle's presidency, Mathieu was given the title of “Calligrapher of the West” by André Malraux, the first French Minister of Culture.

Mathieu’s works carry expressions of the artist’s will, his spirit and emotions. Carried by his own explosive creativity and surges of ever-changing inspiration, he fashioned himself as a representative figure in “lyrical abstraction.” Each of his important works are named according to a specific theme, with subject matter deriving from famous battles and classical sources, or produced as a form of respect for great figures of history or out of the spirit of patriotism. Able to capture a deeper meaning in his art, he leapt forward with his soul, traversing thousands of years of history. Mathieu pioneered the movement that diverged from geometric abstraction in post-war Europe. His philosophy and theories directly influenced countless artists studying abroad in France, the most noteworthy being the Chinese master Zao Wou-ki. To compare the styles of Zao and Mathieu: Zao’s style is akin to how a writer would depict the majestic presence of towering mountains entangled by tendrils of cloud and mist. Mathieu’s style, then, is like traversing the stars in their vastness, one’s mind contemplating the vastness of the night sky .

Mathieu began exhibiting in various places throughout the world in 1952. Like the mid-day sun, Mathieu shined with brilliant productivity during this period, producing works that were truly visionary. In August of 1957, he was invited to hold an exhibition in Tokyo. He created twenty-one pieces for the event, one of them being a fifteen-meter-long paper mural illustrating the Battle of Hakata. His exhibition attracted twenty-five thousand visitors in a mere five days. Time Magazine even published a full report on his public exhibition in Osaka. During this time, he visited the Japanese art group “Gutai” with world-renowned critic Michel Tapié. In the same year, bringing only his paints, canvases, and himself to the large basement of the Ritz-Carlton on 400 Madison Avenue, New York, he created 14 pieces of art in just three hours. He later described this as “the most Kafkaesque experience of my life.”

Black, white, and red are common colors of his early works. Gradually, his colors become brighter and greater in variety. His style in the 1970s was especially magnificent, though without sacrificing the noble air unique to his works. “Wise,” finished in 1970, was painted in broad strokes of indigo on vermilion, which visually extended and stabilized the composition from all sides. Thick, black lines overlap the image, while accents of bright yellow lining bring the theme into focus. Like the staff of the goddess of wisdom, a flash of lighting splits through the stormy sky. Mathieu considered the historical development of art as a series of liberations where the artist breaks free from merely copying what was seen and instead ventures forth to create works of spiritual truth. The sense of speed in his painting comes not from a thoughtless splashing of paint, but rather the artist responding to his immediate feelings, almost as if giving free reign to his rage. Mathieu’s brushwork is consistently confident and strong. His artistic process of applying paint directly from tube to canvas could be likened to fireworks bursting across the night sky. It creates a strong contrast between the base colors and line, and naturally brings the viewer’s attention to the symbolic figur es created by his use of line.

Mathieu is also the first artist who brought the American Expression Abstraction art into the Europe. In November of 1948, Mathieu, as head of the group, with other French artists like Hans Hartung, Wols, Camille Bryen, Picabia representing the French abstraction art met the American artists: Janckson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Marc Rothko and Ad Reinhardt in the Gallery de Monpanasse. This meeting not only successfully associated Paris and New York these two cities of art, but also impressed Mathieu’s dedication in art revolution and established his importance in the art history .

One of the Five Big Vineyards of Bordeaux: Château Mouton Rothschild, as per tradition, invited Mathieu to design the unique wine label for the Bordeaux Grand Vin of 1961. The following year, the chief curator of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, François Mathey, invited Mathieu to attend the “L’Objet” an exhibition for which he designed a bed and a triumphal arch standing 12 meters tall. In 1967, he painted 16 posters inspired by different cities for Air France. The logo of Antenne 2 from 1975 to 1983 was also designed by Mathieu. The highlight of his career, however, was a commission from L'Atelier de Gravure de la Monnaie de Paris to design the 10-franc coin that was in circulation from 1947 to 1987. His design appeared on a total of over one-hundred million coins.

In 1976, he was selected to inherit Alfred Giess’ position as a member of the Académie Française. Mathieu’s friendly relationship with the Ministry of Culture allowed him to be somewhat viewed as the official artist representative of the 1970s; and it wasn’t until Mitterrand took the office in the 1980s that the right wing Mathieu faded from the public eye. Mathieu knew how to utilize the rise of the media of his day to boldly convey his artistic ideologies as well as his misgivings towards the systems of contemporary society. His every word was paid close attention. Along with Bernard Buffet, another member of the Académie Française, he was the most prominent abstract and figurative artist of his time.

Mathieu’s exhibition steps were all around the world, most of his private collectors came from Europe or North America. MoMA, Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and almost hundred museums collect Mathieu’s artworks. His first retrospective exhibition was held in 1963 in Musée de la Ville de Paris, and in Grand Palais, 1978, in Jeu de Paume Museum, 2002. Although, the artist passed away in 2012 , he is still favored by the art market, worldwide galleries hold the exhibitions year by year.