Compering For Annual Day Speech

the artist on Sunday: Paul Sérusier - The talisman was not expected

Sérusier Paul, The Talisman, 1888, oil on wood, 27 x 21 cm, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

"How do you see these trees ? Yellow, yellow, and then put us, the most beautiful yellow of your palette. This shadow? rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine, and these leaves? Rosse, put the vermilion. " (Quoted by Maurice Denis, in ABC de la Peinture, Suivi d'une étude on the streets and l'oeuvre de Sérusier par Maurice Denis, Floury, Paris 1942)

The famous words of Gauguin entered into legend. When it comes to the school of Pont-Aven , we try to evaluate the first true synthesis of visual art and emotional.

L ' Impressionism had taught in a different way to look at reality. Studies on 'Optical , perfection of photography had allowed a scientific analysis of it. It was understood the importance of light of its shape the objects were almost completely demolished the principles of classical composition, the use of the design before painting.

Gauguin had arrived, finally, to use the arbitrary colors in the rendering of his images. Will be influenced by the peasant of Brittany and Japanese prints, which had made their entrance for some time in Europe.

begins to emerge Synthetism , an attempt to eliminate all the details of a landscape, of any image seen in the open air, painting from memory. A few shades of color are present on the canvas of the 80 century French painter, the colors, in fact, are used to maintain the highest pure expression, to allow the cloth to burn in the contrast.

In the group of artists who gravitated around Gauguin, Paul Sérusier was one of those who interpreted his words in an original way.

"The Talisman" embodies the freedom of interpretation of reality mixed interiority of the artist. The teaching of the master is evident, not least the distinction of the subject of the painting. The masses of pure color stretch out comfortably next to each other without boundaries, but by letting enhance each other. Green, yellow, red and blue are the dominant colors of a landscape that is reflected in a river. And 'this duplication to create confusion in identifying the subject the painting, which revealed it is easier to see the logs and treetops. The 'apparent abstraction is so lacking, it is too early for such an imaginative conclusion. The image proposed by Sérusier seems to split into flat polygonal shapes . The rectangles of the strokes, however fluid, are obvious and seem to pack the reality, avoiding any round, you almost wanted to avoid the brush to brush over an area already steeped in color groped to soften.

From these premises will be born the movement of the Nabis , necessary step to bring about the ' Expressionism French .