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Magnificent Abstract Painting from 1975 - René Mels, Great Belgian Artist - Framed
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Batalha, PortugalOn Whoppah since July 2024 • 60 sales
Product description
Artwork Fact Sheet
Artist: René Mels (1909–1977) Belgian School
Title: Abstract Composition
Date: 1975
Technique: Colored ink and wash on paper
Dimensions: 41.5 × 31.5 cm
Signature: Signed and dated lower right "R. Mels, 75"
Condition: Very good
Framing: Sold already framed
Provenance: Artist's family
Description of the work
Created in 1975, this Abstract Composition belongs to the later and fully mastered period of René Mels' graphic work. The paper surface is animated by an energetic layering of sharp, incisive black ink strokes that traverse the composition with great gestural freedom. These lines intersect, intertwine, and generate a dense rhythmic pattern, structuring the space without ever confining it.
The colored washes, dominated by bluish, green, pinkish, and ochre tones, play an active role in the construction of the image. Far from being a mere background, they constantly engage with the line, creating areas of tension and respite. The predominantly horizontal composition evokes a continuous, almost organic or landscape-like flow, without explicit figurative reference. Light emanates from the paper's reserves, reinforcing the sensation of depth and movement.
The whole demonstrates a subtle balance between spontaneity of gesture and formal mastery. Each intervention seems to respond to the previous one, in a progression where the drawing retains all its expressive power and vitality.
Artistic Context
In the mid-1970s, René Mels further developed his research focused on the autonomy of the line and gestural expression. After periods marked by a more structured and architectural abstraction, he developed a freer graphic style, in which the line becomes energy, trajectory, and breath.
This 1975 work fully illustrates this advanced phase of his artistic development. Drawing is no longer preparatory but constitutes the very locus of artistic thought. Color, used with restraint and precision, reinforces the internal dynamics of the composition without altering its structural legibility. This period foreshadows the artist's very last works, characterized by formal simplicity and heightened expressive intensity.
Biography of René Mels (1909–1977)
René Mels was a major figure in 20th-century Belgian painting and printmaking. Born in Herent-lez-Louvain, he trained at the Leuven Academy, then at the Brussels Academy, before continuing his studies at La Cambre. His work, initially marked by expressionism, gradually evolved towards structured abstraction, then towards a language increasingly centered on line, rhythm, and texture.
An active member of the Young Belgian Painting movement and the Abstract Art group, he fully participated in the renewal of the Belgian art scene after the war. His approach, based on a constant tension between constructive rigor and gestural freedom, lends his work remarkable coherence and intensity. René Mels died in 1977 in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, leaving behind a late body of work of great poetic and graphic power.
Specifications
ConditionExcellentColorsMulti ColorMaterialPaper, WoodNumber of items1Height42 cmWidth52 cmDepth1 cm
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Seller information
About this seller
Batalha, PortugalOn Whoppah since July 2024 • 60 sales