Georges, Braque, Le Char III (Char Verni), 1955
1955
Lithograph in color, hand-varnished by the artist, on Arches paper
49.6 x 64.8 cm
Numbered in pencil lower left on 75, signed by the artist in pencil lower right
Tirage Mourlot ; Maeght éditeur, Paris
Catalogue raisonné : Vallier 98
Braque began engraving at an early age, encouraged by his dealer D.H.Kahnweiler. After the 1914-1918 war, he returned to printmaking on a more regular basis, above all with lithographs illustrating numerous texts by his contemporaries (Apollinaire, Char, Eluard, Reverdy, to name but a few).) Le Char is a theme that the artist dealt with several times, as early as 1932; with Le Char III Georges Braque creates a hand-varnished color lithograph; after printing, it is stamped with a copper plate that the artist had engraved according to his indications (Dora Vallier Braque l’oeuvre gravée #98 p.153) The chariot is drawn by a horse with its mane blowing in the wind, guided by a standing figure, all set in a rectangular frame that gives an impression of depth.
About the author
Georges Braque (1882-1963)
The creator of Cubism with Pablo Picasso around 1907, after the First World War he adopted a more traditional aesthetic with a fairly dark color palette. Still lifes and landscapes are bathed in a calm, silent atmosphere. Georges Braque was also a painter of birds, which figured prominently in his late work. In 1953, they were given pride of place on the ceiling of the Salle Henri II at the Louvre. A close friend of poets such as René Char, Francis Ponge and Pierre Reverdy, Georges Braque illustrated numerous texts.
