1977
Pierre Soulages was born on December 24, 1919, in Rodez, France. Attracted by Romanesque art and prehistory at a young age, he began to paint. At 18, he was admitted to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, but, convinced of the mediocrity of the education there, refused to enter. In 1946, Soulages began to paint fulltime. In 1948, he took part in exhibitions in Paris and elsewhere in Europe, including “Französische abstrakte malerei” (French abstract painting) in several German museums. He was the youngest of this group. In 1949, Soulages received a solo exhibition at the Lydia Conti gallery in Paris and group exhibitions in New York, London, Sao Paulo and Copenhagen. From 1949 to 1952, he created his first etchings. His group exhibitions in New York began traveling to other American museums, including “Advancing French Art” (1951), “Younger European Artists” Guggenheim Museum (1953), and “The New Decade,” Museum of Modern Art (1955). He also began to exhibit at the Kootz Gallery, New York, and the Galerie de France, Paris. In the early 1950s, his works were acquired by The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Tate Gallery, London, the National Museum of Modern Art, Paris; and the Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, among others. In 1960, the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany, held Soulages’ first retrospective. Several retrospectives followed, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (1966). In 1979 Soulages exhibited his first single-pigment paintings based on the reflection of light by the surface states of black at the Musée National d’Art Moderne—Centre Georges Pompidou. The pictorial light arising from the difference between two darknesses in the paintings carried a great power of emotion and possibilities for development. It was later called "black-light" and "outrenoir." Soulages has since created other works where rhythm, space and light are born from the violent contact of black and white on the canvas surface . In 2001, Soulages was the first living artist invited to exhibit at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, then at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. In October 2009, the Centre Pompidou presented the largest retrospective since the beginning of the 1980s devoted to a living artist, occupying more than 2,000 square meters of space. It ranked as the fourth most attended exhibition in the history of the Centre Pompidou. That same year, the Louvre Museum exhibited a painting by Soulages in the Salon Carré in the Denon wing. In 2019, in homage to the artist for his 100th birthday, numerous events were organized in France and abroad. The Soulages exhibition at the Louvre, designed as a mini-retrospective, presented three new paintings and was accompanied by a hanging at the Musée Natinal d’Art Moderne—Centre Georges Pompidou. Today, Soulages is represented in more than 110 museums with more than 230 paintings. He is a favorite painter among his peers, French artists.
Original 1967 poster by Soulages at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
This original 1967 lithographic poster was created by Pierre Soulages to promote his landmark exhibition at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. Held from March 22 to May 21, 1...
Paper, Lithograph
1987 original exhibitino poster by Pierre Soulages - Artcurial Paris
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
In 1987, the renowned French artist Pierre Soulages showcased his work in an exhibition titled Estampes at Artcurial in Paris, marking a significant moment in his long career. The exhibition, which focused on Soulages' prints, was accompanied by an original poster that has since become a celebrated piece of art in its own right, capturing the essence of his distinctive style. Pierre Soulages, known for his groundbreaking work with black, revolutionized the way the color was used in contemporary art. His series of works referred to as "noir-lumiere" (black light) explored the interplay of light and dark, where the use of black paint became an instrument for creating dynamic surfaces full of texture and depth. Throughout his career, Soulages was deeply interested in the idea of the materiality of paint itself and how it could be manipulated to reflect light, which led him to develop an innovative approach to printmaking. The Estampes exhibition at Artcurial focused specifically on Soulages' prints, offering a closer look at his exploration of graphic arts. This body of work was crucial in understanding the breadth of his artistic practice. Soulages' prints, much like his paintings, were not merely reproductions of his earlier works; they were unique pieces that engaged with the act of creating marks on paper, emphasizing texture and form in a way that was completely aligned with his larger body of work. The original exhibition poster designed for Estampes encapsulated the essence of Soulages’ philosophy. Though the poster’s design reflects the focus on printmaking, it also draws from his signature approach to texture and abstraction. The boldness of Soulages’ work, whether in painting or print, is often characterized by a sense of energy and movement, as he manipulates the surface of the material to evoke both light and shadow. The 1987 poster...
Paper, Lithograph
1993 original exhibition poster from Pierre Soulages at the Galerie de France
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
This original exhibition poster from 1993 showcases the works of Pierre Soulages, one of the most renowned French painters of the 20th century, at the prestigious Galerie de France. ...
Linen, Paper, Lithograph
1979 original exhibition poster by Pierre Soulages Centre Georges Pompidou
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
The 1979 original exhibition poster by Pierre Soulages announces an exciting showcase of the artist's recent paintings at the Centre Georges Pompidou's Musée National d'Art Moderne. ...
Paper, Lithograph
1967 original lithography by Pierre Soulages for Revue XXe siècle
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
In 1967, the renowned French artist Pierre Soulages created an original lithograph titled Composition for the influential art magazine Revue XXe Siècle. This lithograph is emblematic...
Paper, Lithograph
1959 original lithograph by Pierre Soulages printed by Mourlot - XXème siècle
By Pierre Soulages
Located in PARIS, FR
This striking original lithograph by Pierre Soulages was published in 1959 as part of the celebrated art review XXème Siècle—a cornerstone of post-war European art publishing. Printe...
Paper, Lithograph
Antagonismes by Pierre Soulages (1960) - lithographic poster
By Pierre Soulages
Located in New York, NY
Made for an exhibition of artist Pierre Soulages works at the Musee Des Arts Decoratifs (museum of decorative arts and design) at the Palais du Louvre in Paris, 1960. The original im...
Lithograph
Black Abstract by Pierre Soulage Exhibition Poster
By Pierre Soulages
Located in Pasadena, CA
Pierre Soulages is considered a major figure of post-war European abstraction, alongside Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Serge Poliakoff, and Jean-Paul Riopelle. He’s particularly ren...
Lithograph
Lithograph n°8
By Pierre Soulages
Located in Paris, FR
Lithograph, 1958 Edition : 141/250 Publisher : Kestner-Gesellschaft Hannover, Hanovre Printer : Pons, Paris Catalog : [BNF 52] 75.50 cm. x 56.00 cm. 29.72 in. x 22.05 in. (paper) 64...
Lithograph
Sérigraphie no. 10 - Original Screenprint, Handsigned & 27 / 75 (BNF #102)
By Pierre Soulages
Located in Paris, IDF
Pierre SOULAGES (1919-2022) Serigraph n°10, 1979 Original serigraph Signed in pencil Numbered 27/75 copies On Arches vellum 52 x 37 cm (c. 21 x 15 in) REFERENCE: Catalogue raisonné of the original prints of Pierre Soulages, BNF #102 INFORMATION: This serigraph is part of the series "On the wall opposite", published by Bernard Frize...
Screen
Lithograph n°29 - Original Lithograph (Mourlot - Olympic Games Munich 1972)
By Pierre Soulages
Located in Paris, IDF
Pierre SOULAGES Lithograph n°29 Original Lithograph (printed in Mourlot workshop) Printed signature in the plate On edition paper 101 x 64 cm (c. 40 x 26 inch) Made for the Olympic ...
Lithograph
Sérigraphie no. 12 - Original Screenprint, Handsigned & / 75 (BNF #104)
By Pierre Soulages
Located in Paris, IDF
Pierre SOULAGES (1919-2022) Serigraph n°12, 1979 Original serigraph Signed in pencil Numbered 27/75 copies On Arches vellum 52 x 37 cm (c. 21 x 15 in) REFERENCE: Catalogue raisonné of the original prints of Pierre Soulages, BNF #104 INFORMATION: This serigraph is part of the series "On the wall opposite", published by Bernard Frize...
Screen
