Lot  043 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2019

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2019

Le Retour des cavaliers

André BRASILIER (French, 1929)

1998

Oil on canvas

81 x 100 cm

Estimate

TWD 1,600,000-2,400,000

HKD 405,000-608,000

USD 51,700-77,600

CNY 370,000-556,000

Sold Price


Signature

Signed lower right André Brasilier
Initialed stretcher A.B., titled Le retour des cavaliers and dated 1998

PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist by the previous owner
Private collection, France

ILLUSTRATED:
Xavier de Coulanges, André Brasilier: Catalogue Raisonné, 1982-2002 (v. I), Acatos Publishing, Lausanne, 2004, color illustrated, p. 289

+ OVERVIEW

Travel, exploration and discoveries have always played an important role in his artistic career. Over the years, he has left innumerable, indelible footsteps all over Europe, and created large volumes of sketches and artworks over the course of his journeys. He considers the art of painting to be a material production that must on the other hand reflect the true feelings and sensations of life. His lifelong objective has been to seek a balance and harmony between the two. The tranquility and serenity found in 289Brasilier's works embodies a distinctive elegance typically seen in Eastern aesthetics, which is why his works are so well received in Japan. He does not consider himself a realist because what he undertakes is the simplification and elucidation of natural sights and the representation of these material essences through an objective perspective. This approach coincides perfectly with the self-restraint and simplicity revered in Japanese aesthetics. Brasilier is a gifted artist in many aspects. In addition to easel painting, in 1985 he illustrated stage settings for two plays and designed the performers' costumes; later on, in 1987, he undertook the creation of mosaic murals.

Painted in 1998, Le Retour des Cavaliers exemplifies the artist's signature style. The canvas is demarcated by magnificent colors while the azure sky in the background is illuminated with pink-tinted clouds. The deep blues and browns of the medium shot resemble the vastness of billowy waves and sandy beach, while across the beach is a stretch of woodlands tinted blue and green. Traversing along the fringe of the forest are four horsemen on their returning journey back home. Brasilier's beloved horses and natural sceneries are all conveyed in this painting. As he has stated, he delineates his objects neither objectively nor accurately, choosing instead to compose a beautiful melody using a kaleidoscope of color. From woodland to horses, nothing is restricted by the contours of their natural form, but become part of an eloquent animation upon the canvas orchestrated by Brasilier's symphony of color.
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Select: Modern & Contemporary Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2019

Sunday, December 1, 2019, 1:00pm