Michel Henry [Notre Dame] Original silk screen print, autographed by the artist [framed]

Limited to 300 copies. Image size 52 x 65 cm. Frame size 82 x 94 cm. Created in 1986.

Silkscreen printing was invented in the early 20th century. It is a screen printing technique in which color seeps through the mesh of silk or other materials and is transferred to paper or fabric. Areas where the color should not seep through are blocked off. The number of plates is equal to the number of colors used. It was used in the art field by American companies such as Warhol in the 1950s, and became popular as an art printing technique. By allowing a large amount of color to seep out, it is possible to create a thickness similar to that of oil paint, which creates a beautiful matière (the texture of paint applied with a brush, etc.), making it the perfect printing technique for Michel Henry.

Michel Henry is a painter who mainly paints flowers, and together with Buffet and Brasilier, he is one of the leading painters in the 20th century French art world. His paintings give off a sense of happiness, so he is called the painter of happiness in France, and the king of poppies in America, because he paints many poppies. His transparent colors are likened to jewels. Red is said to be the color of ruby, blue is the color of sawaire, green is the color of emerald, and deep brown is the color of topaz. Michel Henry's paintings are collected by the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Swedish royal family, the Principality of Monaco, the Saudi Arabian royal family, and others. Galerie Adeka has been the sole distributor of Michel Henry in Japan since 1995, planning Michel Henry exhibitions in famous department stores and galleries throughout Japan, producing original prints signed by the artist himself, selling painting prints, and managing copyrights.

This original silkscreen print was produced by a publisher in Paris in 1986 as part of the Paris tetralogy (Grand Palais, Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre, Eiffel Tower and Irises). It was purchased directly from the publisher in Paris in 2004.

Work Description

In the background is Notre Dame de Paris, a typical Gothic church that took about a century to complete from the mid-12th century, and in the foreground is a flower compote painted on a window overlooking the Seine. The overall color tone is calm. The composition is a spiral, starting from the right end of the third bridge from the front, crossing the bridge, passing through a white building and connecting to the left end of the compote, tracing the bottom of the compote and extending the curve to the right end of the flower. The eye first goes to the right bridge, the third bridge from the front, which is the focal point of the perspective and the starting point of the spiral composition, and then follows the spiral curve to the bouquet of compote, the only bright color in this painting. After playing in a paradise of colors for a while and taking a breather, the eye raises his eyes to see the tower of Notre Dame and realizes that this painting was painted for Notre Dame.

Gallery Adeka Yasuhiro Takeda