Postcard Martial Raysse - Nissa Bella, 1964

Martial Raysse first began its artistic career in literature before abandoning this path to embrace visual arts, as he found them more universal. Without specific training Raysse tried his hand at painting, sculpture, photography and even directing. The French artist born on the Azur Coast joined the Pop Art mouvement after his journey in the US. The artist reinterprets classics from the history of art in a pop version in his series made in Japan, including Ingres's La Grande Odalisque. These brightly coloured paintings borrow from advertising techniques to catch the viewer's eye and attention. Raysse mimics these famous paintings not to make fun of them but to pay tribute to them, with their new appearance he makes them accessible and visible to the general public. As a member of the Nouveaux Réalistes, Martial Raysse worked with plastic materials, embodying to perfection the emerging consumer society.