AUTO CAS OC QMG RCA SCA
1923 - 2002
Canadian
Rouge affleurant
oil on canvas
signed and on verso titled and dated 1977 on the gallery label and inscribed "16001" and "81 M.BA. 421"
28 7/8 x 36 3/8 in, 73.3 x 92.4 cm
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000 CAD
Sold for: $91,250
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Galerie Maeght, Paris
Private Collection, Quebec
LITERATURE
Yseult Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 5, 1972 - 1979, 2021, reproduced page 249, catalogue #1977.021H.1977
Rouge affleurant, a stunning oil on canvas by Jean Paul Riopelle, is as invigorating as a breath of fresh air. Starting in the early 1960s, Riopelle broke up his dense 1950s mosaics and introduced large areas of white paint into his works, breathing space into them. His interest in the colour white and its challenges is rooted in his absorption with naturalism. He claimed in an interview: “The colour white doesn’t exist in nature. If snow were white, I wouldn’t have taken the chance.”[1] Some of the finest examples of Riopelle’s use of white can be seen in his black and white Iceberg series, dated 1977, as well as in our work Rouge affleurant, from the same year.
Here, white is used as a vehicle for subtle chromatic variations. The crisp, luminous surface is streaked with luscious touches of colour, providing dimension and exquisite modulations. As Riopelle drags his blade though thick layers of paint, violet, crimson, orange red, lavender, blue, pink and turquoise appear through the underlayers. At the centre of this calm white expanse is a beating heart of blood-red peaks and crests, and frenzied calligraphic swirls and swoops dug through the thick impasto. Sharp black lines frame the composition at its edges and centre. Rouge affleurant is bold yet serene, and reveals the painterly possibilities of the colour white in its enlivened surface.
1. Jean Paul Riopelle quoted in Gilbert Érouart, Riopelle in Conversation, trans. Donald Winkler (Concord, ON: House of Anansi, 1995), 13.
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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