The 100th birthday of artist-slash-behemoth Pierre Soulages – who still creates – are being celebrated at the Louvre with a new exhibition, or rather a new retrospective, showing works from over seven decades. ?

While Soulages has already had a couple of pieces shown at the Louvre, this is the first time that an exhibition there is dedicated entirely to him. As it happens, the artist already has a special relationship with the place – in 1969, Soulages was invited to define the colour to be used in the rooms dedicated to 19th century French painting, a deep red that is there to this day.

As for the retrospective, it’s more a question of absence of colour. The painter is famous for his totally abstract works filled with copious black, earning him a reputation as ‘the painter of black and light’.

Presented chronologically, the exhibition shows how Soulages attempts to bring out light by applying black, and also how his style changed notably in 1979, when he started using different textures to ‘capture’ or ‘refuse’ light.

Linked with the exhibition, you might be interested by:

— a weekend with Pierre Soulages on 10th, 11th & 12th January 2020 with a presentation of the exhibition, a concert including a brand new work by Pascal Dusapin, commissioned by the Louvre (No. 3 – Black Letters), a conference, a showing of the film Soulages, le noir et la lumière by Jean-Noël Cristiani (that you can also watch below)…

— a different film showing on 23rd January 2020 at 12.30pm for the International Days of Art on Film,

— four conferences on Thursdays in February 2020,

— a second Soulages exhibition at the Pompidou Centre with fourteen works on show, some never seen before in Paris…

A catalogue of the exhibition is also available (176 pages, 80 illustrations, 35€ here at amazon.fr).

The exhibition Soulages au Louvre is at the Louvre (here) from 11th December 2019 – 9th March 2020

Open every day except Tuesdays from 9am – 6pm (10pm Wednesdays and Fridays)

Admission : 15€ (includes museum entrance)

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