Georges BRAQUE

Lithograph, 1960

Edition : Epreuve d'artiste

Publisher : Jean-Paul Loriot, Paris

Printer : Mourlot, Paris

Catalog : [Vallier p. 298]

Image dimensions : 38.00 cm. x 25.00 cm. (14.96 in. x 9.84 in.)

Paper dimensions : 52.00 cm. x 34.00 cm. (20.47 in. x 13.39 in.)

Handsigned by the artist in pencil
Artist proof
Certificate of authenticity
Very good condition

This lithograph is an artist's proof on pearly japanese paper, a precious medium with an unparalleled richness of texture and chromatic variations. It is part of a series of silhouettes with pink and blue backgrounds that Braque produced during this period. Here, the silhouette is entirely black and stands out against a pink clay background.

Close to the Greek model, the appearance of the figure is familiar to Braque from the 1930s. It is particularly close to the etching that served as the frontispiece to Hesiod's Theogony, engraved in 1932 and completed in 1955 with the publication of the text illustrated by Aimé Maeght [Vallier p.57]. This long poem on the genealogy of the gods written between the eighth and seventh century, had an immeasurable impact in the work of the artist, inspiring him to experiment with the plastic potential of Greek mythology.

In this work, we find Braque's materialist approach that reconciles the economy of means with the desire to metamorphose the object. The artist generates a model of a Greek god with a flatness of form and a chromatic minimalism that leaves a certain mystery.

Ref : LCD3390