Jean FAUTRIER (1898-1964)

Jean Fautrier is one of the most original artists of his generation, whose entire body of work is characterized by a rich temperament, violent spontaneity and consistently delicious subject matter. Along with Wols and Dubuffet, he remains one of the greatest painters of informal art…

• Selection of works by Jean Fautrier currently available | Read more
• Jean Fautrier, one of the greatest painters of the informal art | Read more
  
• News about Fautrier | Read more

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AGENDA

Jean FAUTRIER, The 20’s

Exhibition at the gallery from September 15^th to October 31^st 2023
Read more

Consult the catalogue

 

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Selection of works by Jean Fautrier currently available

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price upon request. Contact us.

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Jean Fautrier,
one of the greatest painters of the informal art

There are two very contrasting Fautrier periods: the figurative period of the 20s and 30s and the so-called informal period.

Dark backgrounds dominate the figurative period with nudes and portraits handled with a powerful contrast of light. It’s a kind of rembranesque chiaroscuro, in a range of black and ochre, plunging the subject in an atmosphere of mysterious irradiation. Black is used as an extreme colour with a purely plastic effect. He was then under contract to Paul Guillaume, the famous merchant of Modigliani, Soutine etc. who has part of his collection exhibited in the Museum of the Orangerie in Paris.

At the end of the 1930s the artist conducted a radical shift towards painting in paste focusing on the effects of matter. A character or object is “discussed” by a little defined mark on which he placed a few schematic lines, recomposing faces, nudes or daily utensils from the primitive sensation they provoked.

“The idea of completely informal painting is a heresy”
Jean Fautrier

The link with reality became increasingly thin. He said: “the idea of completely informal painting is a heresy”. The exhibition Hostages (1945) and Objects (1955) were highly notable. Malraux declared ‘that he’s probably the only contemporary artist who owes nothing to anyone’. In 1989 there was a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art of the city of Paris.

“That he’s probably the only contemporary artist
who owes nothing to anyone”
André Malraux

Fautrier is one of the most original artists of his generation. His entire work is characterized by a rich temperament, violent spontaneity and always-appetizing material. He remains one of the greatest painters of informal art along with Wols and Dubuffet.

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News about Fautrier

Jean Fautrier. The 20′  Coming soon

Exhibition at the Galerie de la Présidence
September 14 to October 31, 2023

Exhibitions devoted to Fautrier are rare…
The Galerie de la Présidence will present a group of works from the 1920s, known as the “black period”, rich in power and intensity.

On display:

• Several oil paintings from the famous dealers Jeanne Castel and Paul Guillaume, early supporters and collectors of his work.
• A group of rare, large sanguines – vigorously modeled nudes – of exceptional quality, “worth the trip in themselves” (Marcel-André Stalter, professor of contemporary art history, PhD thesis on “Jean Fautrier”, Sorbonne University, Paris IV, 1982).

During his “Black Period”, Fautrier revealed the most intimate, figurative and highly expressionist part of his work.
From 1930 onwards, he would evolve to become the precursor and master of the informal movement…

 

Jean Fautrier, Texture and light

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
From January 26^th to May 20^th 2018

Galerie de la Présidence has loaned works to this major retrospective.
Read more about this exhibition

Video by Paris Musées, on Dailymotion