Realm (Royaume)
Jean-Michel Atlan
French, born Algeria. 1913–1960
1957
A small pastel on colored paper in which Atlan translates an inner, mystical sensation into looping, calligraphic forms and flashes of color.
Thick black, ribbonlike strokes carve the surface into a lively tangle against a cool, shimmering ground, while vivid red, blue, and ocher patches seem to pulse behind and between the marks.
Made in 1957, the piece exemplifies postwar European lyrical abstraction (Art informel), where spontaneous, biomorphic calligraphy was used to express psychic depths and expand gestural abstraction beyond the American tradition.
Medium
Pastel on colored paper
Dimensions
9 7/8 × 12 7/8" (25.1 × 32.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Benjamin Scharps and David Scharps Fund
Accession
81.1958
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
