Museums in Paris: Pierre Soulages

French painter Pierre Soulages turned 100 years old on December 24, 2019.  To honor both his longevity and art, two Paris museums, the Pompidou and the Louvre, are currently hosting a joint exhibition of his work.  

Pterre Soulages in 2019

In case you are not familiar with Pierre Soulages, he is considered by some to be France's and the world's greatest living artist.  Soulages is known as the "painter of black" because he uses black paint almost exclusively.  According to Soulages, "When light is reflected on black, it transforms and transmutes it.  It opens a mental field all its own."  Soulages named his style Outrenoir (beyond black) because the paintings reflect light and appear to have great depth.

Soulages often uses a shiny black paint that reflects light and he applies the paint thickly, creating texture with brushes and other tools.

Without further ado, here is the painter of black.

At the Pompidou:

Soulages, earlier in his career, sometimes included the color gold in his paintings.  As his career progressed, he devoted himself to painting in black only. 

Below are several paintings from later in Soulages' career.

Marie-Chantal says you can see all sorts of colors, such as purple, blue, gray, silver, and maybe pink, if you look at the painting above from the side.

Side view of Peinture 202 x 453 cm, 29 juin 1979  

At the Louvre:

(The two painting above were hung side by side in the gallery.) 

Thanks for viewing the Soulages exhibition with us.

P.S.  The exhibition at the Louvre was held in the Salon Carré, built in the 1660's.  Jean-Claude was amused by the juxtaposition of Soulages' abstract black paintings with the ornate Salon Carré (pictured below).

Ceiling of the Salon Carré