Galerie Denise René, Paris
Acquis du précédent par le propriétaire actuel

Paris, Galerie Denise René, Herbin, peintures 1953-1954, 1954, no. 2
Liège, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bloc, Dewasne, Deyrolle, Herbin, Mortensen, Poliakoff, Vasarely, 1954, no. 11
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Artistes aujourd'hui, "Evolution", 1955
Paris, Galerie Denise René, Herbin, 1960, no. 2
Münster, Kunstverein, Tendenzen strukturaler Kunst, 1966, no. 28
Hanovre, Kestner Gesellschaft, Auguste Herbin, 1967, no. 122
Düsseldorf, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, 1967-68, no. 119
Paris, Galerie Denise René, Herbin, L'Alphabet plastique, peintures et gouaches 1951 à 1960, 1972, reproduit p. 9 et p. 25
New York, Galerie Denise René, Herbin, 1973
New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Herbin, an exhibition of paintings and gouache, 1974
Paris, Galerie Marguerite Lamy, Herbin 1882-1960, 1975, reproduit p. 32
Marseille, Parc Chanot, Forme lumière, mouvement, 1981, reproduit p. 5
Venise, XLII Esposizione internazionale d'Arte, Biennale de Venise, 1986
Bâle, Art'89, Stand Denise René, One Man Show : Herbin, 1989

Georges Boudaille, L'Art Abstrait, Paris, 1991, reproduit p. 168
Geneviève Claisse, Herbin. Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Paris, Lausanne, 1993, no. 960, p. 450, reproduit p. 179

Please note that measurements in inches are incomplete in the printed catalogue and should read 57 1/2 x 34 3/8 in. The canvas is not lined. A close inspection reveals a minor network of hairline craquelures, notably in the central white pigment, the dark green pigment in the lower left quadrant and the black pigment in the upper right quadrant. Examination under UV light reveals a 2x1cm stain of retouching in the lower left area of the orange rectangle and a 2x1cm spot of retouching in the upper right area of the orange triangle. There is a 3x3 stain of retouching in the red circle to the right of the composition as well as a 2mm spot of varnish-loss. There are also three 1x2cm spots of retouching along the upper left edge. This work remains in very good condition.
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signed 'Herbin' and dated '1953' (lower right), titled 'Orage' (lower left), oil on canvas. Painted in 1953.

Considéré par beaucoup comme le fondateur de l'abstraction en France, Auguste Herbin met au point en 1946 son "Alphabet plastique", véritable aboutissement de sa recherche créatrice. Cet essai établit une correspondance entre chaque lettre de l'alphabet, une couleur, une association de formes et une sonorité ou une note musicale. L'artiste ayant pour mission de "rendre perceptibles à nos sens les arcanes de l'ordre cosmique" (Geneviève Claisse, op. cit.,  p. 156). Cette codification dépasse ainsi toute vision matérialiste du monde en révélant les niveaux "supra-sensibles" de l'existence et deviendra une des références majeures de la peinture abstraite.

Cette démarche donne lieu à des compositions géométriques calmes et équilibrées mais aussi à certaines œuvres privilégiant la déchirure et le déséquilibre comme Orage. Au cœur d'une composition "déchirée" autour de lignes blanches obliques au rythme saccadé s'organisent cercles, carrés, rectangles et triangles isocèles. Les figures géométriques s'articulent autour de grands éclairs qui bousculent l'ordonnance des formes géométr𝓡iques simples; la multiplicité des formes et leur disposition créant un équilibre de tensions dynamiques efficace. Herbin suit scrupuleusement la concordance des lettres et on retrouve ainsi dans la composition :

- Le rose du 'A', associé aux formes sphériques et quadrangulaires, ainsi q🌌u'à toutes les notes musicales de la gamme.

- L'orangé du 'I', combiné aux formes sphériquesไ et triangulaires et ✱aux sonorités ré et mi.

- Les sphères rouges du 'E' cor🔯rélées à la note do🐟.

- Les formes triangulaire🐈s et hémisphériques♓ associés au vert clair, ainsi qu'aux notes fa et mi.

- Le bleu clair 'R' attaché aux formes hémisphériques ainsi qu'aux sonorités soওl, f🧸a, mi.

Widely considered to be the founder of Abstract Art in France, Auguste Herbin formulated in 1946 his "Visual Alphabet", the culmination of his creative research. This theory established a correspondence between each letter of the alphabet, a colour, an association of shapes and a sound or a musical note. The artist's aim was to "make the mysteries of the cosmic order perceptible to our senses" (Geneviève Claisse, op. cit.,  p. 156). This codification thus surpasses a materialist conception of the world revealing the "supra-sensible" levels of existence and would eventually become one of the main references for abstract painting.

This approach led to harmonious and balanced geometrical compositions but also to certain works focussed on rupture and imbalance such as Orage. At the heart of this "torn" composition, around oblique white lines, circles, square, rectangles and isosceles triangles are arranged in a staccato rhythm.  The geometrical figures are centred on large flashes which disturb the order of simple geometric forms; the multiplicity of forms and their arrangement creating an effective balance of dynamic tension.  Herbin carefully follows the correspondence of letters and therefore in the composition we can see:

-        The pink of 'A', associated with spherical shapes as well as all of the notes of the musical scale.

-        The orange of the 'I', combined with the round and triangular forms and the notes 're' and 'mi'

-        The red circles of the 'E' corresponding with the note 'do'

-        The triangular and semicircular forms associated with light green, as well as the notes 'fa' and 'mi'

-       ಞ;💖 The light blue 'R' associated with semicircular forms as well as the notes 'so', 'fa' and 'mi'