Canadian Fine Art

November 19, 2018

LOT 24

Lot 24

JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.

JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
Lot 24 Details
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.

OCRE RAFRAÎCHI PAR UN BLEU

oil on canvas
signed and dated “20-5-61” on the reverse
39 ins x 60 ins; 99.1 cms x 152.4 cms

Estimate $30,000-$50,000

Realised: $26,400
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
  • JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
  • JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
Provenance:

Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal
Private Collection, Toronto

Literature:

National Gallery of Canada, ‘Jean McEwen,’ https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/jean-mcewen

Note:

Jean McEwen’s (1923-1999) painting insists on the significance of colour. "There are two ways to judge a painting,” he has said. “One is based on criteria and theories of art. The second is based on the sensations we get before a picture. I paint the second way." Crucial to his practice was understanding how painting was structured by the materials used to create it. Playing with pigment, texture, and varnishes, he is able to create images that exuberantly declare their materiality while producing arresting and dreamy aesthetic effects.

Ocre Rafraîchi par un Bleu demonstrates the blurring of the boundaries between form and colour explored by McEwen. The large canvas is split into two wide dark rust-coloured bands separating and bounding two mottled fields of ochre. A strong horizontal arrangement tempts us to think of this as something solid and substantial, maybe even architectural. But rather than something heavy or dense, we get a sense of permeability: a depth revealed by transparency. Threads of brilliant blue emerge, traversing just beneath the surface from the left of frame in vivid bursts before becoming effaced by layers of deeper colour to the right. The layers of paint that structure the piece surge with a subdued movement, alternating from transparency to opacity, creating a volatile sense of depth and flattened dimensionality. Unfinished edges expose blank canvas, exposing the construction of the painting as a series of layers and colours. This bifurcated organisation is one that McEwen frequently returned to as a painter. But as we can see, these compositions aren’t isolated cells - they aren’t divided, impermeable spaces. Rather, the colours drip and bleed into one another, are refreshed by each other, driven by an underlying poetic urgency.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 24
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.