Collection Online

Painting, 202 x 143, 6 November 1967
(Peinture, 202 x 143, 6 novembre 1967)
1967

Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
202.7 × 143.8 cm
Inscription
inscribed in pencil l.r.: Soulages
inscribed in black paint on reverse u.r.: SOULAGES / 202 cm x 143 cm / 6 nov 67
Accession Number
1998.35
Department
International Painting
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Eugénie Crawford Bequest, Founder Benefactor, 1998
© Pierre Soulages/ADAGP, Paris. Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work

Pierre Soulages was first introduced to abstract art by Sonia Delaunay, whom he met during the Second World War. Although he had studied painting prior to the war, it wasn’t until 1946 that he was able to begin to paint steadily, and from 1947 onwards he began painting in a completely abstract style. Although Soulages is often associated with Art Informel, a movement that developed in postwar France (also known as Lyrical Abstraction), and Abstract Expressionism, which developed in parallel in America, Soulages rejects these comparisons, arguing that his art is less concerned with spontaneity or improvisation than a careful balancing of line and form to achieve a sense of visual harmony.

Subjects (general)
Abstract Art Nonrepresentational Art
Subjects (specific)
black (colour) blue colours brush strokes painterliness
Movements
Art Informel

Frame

This entry is an example of removing a frame from a painting to re-establish the presentation preferred by the artist.

Painting 6 November, by Pierre Soulages, was acquired in 1998 with a rounded leading edge wooden strip frame finished with aluminium leaf. This frame was fitted over a black painted wooden strip which had been secured to the edge of the painting.
In 2004 the opinion of the artist was sought in relation to the presentation of the painting.
The view expressed was the painting should be displayed without a frame and the edges of the work covered with a single layer of tape to cover the attachment of the canvas.
The framing components were removed in 2005 and the tacking edges covered with archival tape, toned and integrated with the white surface of the front of the painting.

Framemaker
Unknown - 20th century
Materials

timber, aluminium leaf

Dimensions
209 x 150 x 8 cm