Magnets

Pierre Soulages
Nut shell on paper, 1946 - 48,2 x 63,4 cm - Paper mounted on canvas; Rodez, musée Soulages
Donation of Pierre and Colette Soulages, musée Soulages

At the beginning of his plastic research, some forms of Pierre Soulages' work were similar to calligraphy and gestural signs.
But what interests the artist above all is the trace of the gesture and not the search for form as a form.
At first, the plastic means were walnut stain and tar. Here, black and dark colour already have the role of revealing, by contrast or transparency, the whiteness of the medium, the paper.