Film 影像 | Pierre Soulages and Rembrandt

Brett Gorvy: We look here at the work and I can feel the connection to an artist like Rembrandt, I can see that same sense of chiaroscuro that you would see in the Old Masters. Here you have a painting where the light is really extenuated by the fact that you have these beautiful, you used the word chestnut, these browns, these wonderful organic colors. But it is the strength of gesture, it’s the strength of the black, in contrast to the white, which is obviously so much about the subject.

Emilio Steinberger: He is building the two basic ways that he’s working– building contrast, building contrast from light to dark, starting from dark, building up light on top, and then also building contrast in structurers. So, you have these very light, almost airy areas against these very heavy, black, monolithic forms and the in between. You have this glowing light and color that are hard to get ahold of. Is it brown, is it chestnut, is it black, is it gray? Where is the light? Where is the beginning, where is the end of it? And also the format is just this human scale where when you are standing in front of it, you are enveloped by the picture.

Brett Gorvy: When I look at a painting like this, or as Soulages as an artist, I think of a very positive energy. It is about life as a light giving force, not about life and dark and darkness being a blackness. Thinking about how he is using black, it’s basically as a way to emphasize light, as opposed to hide the light.