Born on December 24, 1919 in Rodez, France, Soulages currently lives and works between Paris and Sète, France. He opted for radical and instinctive ways of expression through total abstraction. 'I work, guided by inner impulse, a longing for certain forms, colours and materials,' he explained in 1950.

He is known as "the master of black" because of his interest in the colour, "...both a colour and a non-colour. Soulages titled this painting with the date he finished it. He had started using heavy brushstrokes of black paint against a light background in 1947. When light is reflected on black, it transforms and transmutes it. You entered the wrong email. '[I]t is not until they are on the canvas that they tell me what I want'. His style became more energetic and gestural throughout the 1950s. His style became more energetic and gestural throughout the 1950s. Pierre Soulages (French: [sulaʒ]; born 24 December 1919) is a French painter, engraver, and sculptor. Born in 1919 in Rodez, France Lives and works between Sète and Paris, France Pierre Soulages has gained international recognition as a prominent figure of both art informel, which arose in France during World War II, and abstract expressionism, its American counterpart. He sees light as a matter to work with; striations of the black surface of his paintings enable him to make the light reflect, allowing the black to come out from darkness and into brightness, thereby becoming a luminous colour. 'I choose to designate my paintings by the date of their completion; this is no more than a practical means of placing them in time and giving them a name.' Soulages titled this painting with the date he finished it. It opens up a mental field all of its own". and 'Soulages | 23 mai 53' on back of canvas (the latter inscription is repeated on the stretcher, together with the artist's address in the rue Schoelcher, Paris)The artist wrote as follows about this work on 8 December 1953: 'This painting belongs to a series of works on a common theme. Soulages became the first contemporary artist to be shown at St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum in 2001. Pierre Soulages (3,320 results) It opens up a mental field all of its own". From the start of his career now spanning over eight decades, Pierre Soulages chose to free himself from all academic and cultural constraints as well as from all traditional aesthetic values. When light is reflected on black, it transforms and transmutes it. Soulages has said that for him abstraction is a way to … This is a part of the Wikipedia article used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). Pierre Soulages is a French painter, engraver and sculptor associated with Tachisme.

Pierre Soulages is a French painter, engraver and sculptor associated with Tachisme. The first in date is a painting in turpentine on 'These works were not done as a conscious series of studies for the large painting you own, but are variations which nevertheless prepare the way for the painting "23 May 1953". In the Studio: The Disappearing Figure: Art after CatastropheInscribed 'Soulages' b.r.
Soulages has said that for him abstraction is a way to explore his imagination and inner experience. The artist donated 500 works to the Musée Soulages that opened in his hometown in 2014. He had started using heavy brushstrokes of black paint against a light background in 1947. For a later variant of the same theme, see 'Painting, 16 June 1953' (canvas, 41 x 33cm) reproduced in colour in James Johnson Sweeney, , Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, p.699, reproduced p.699Green and Purple Painting with Blue Disc : May 1960 The full text of the article is here →

He is known as "the master of black" because of his interest in the colour, "...both a colour and a non-colour. In 2014 François Hollande described him as "the world's greatest living artist."