Michel Henry [Red Composition] Oil painting No. 25F [Framed]

Produced in 2003

This is a painting commissioned by the artist Michel Henry for our company (Galerie Adeka). 

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.

Dahlias are rare for Michel Henry. Dahlias come in a variety of colors, including orange, pink, purple, and white. Several dahlias of different colors are painted with their stems inserted into a crystal vase, facing the periphery of the vase. The bouquet of dahlias occupies the upper right half of the canvas. A cluster of cherries is painted to the lower left, and another cherry is painted in the lower right. Black leaves are scattered around the flowers. The composition of this painting becomes clear when you draw a line from the upper right corner of the canvas to the lower left corner, and then from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. It is painted in this way. The cluster of cherries on the left plays a role in stabilizing the composition, but is there any significance to the lone cherry placed on the right? The line connecting the cherries on the left and right overlaps with the line of the bottom of the vase, stabilizing the composition along with the greenish base of the still life at the bottom of the canvas. As an aside, the language of dahlias, like their colors, has several different meanings. The first is splendor and elegance. These are linked to the flower's splendor and elegance. The second is gratitude. Dahlias became popular in France after the French Revolution. They represent gratitude for the success of the revolution and the journey that led to that success. The third is betrayal and fickleness. This language of flowers also comes from history. Napoleon III's wife Josephine secretly grew dahlias in her garden and kept them all to herself. However, a maid stole the bulbs and gave them to an aristocrat. After that, Josephine lost interest in dahlias and stopped growing them. As far as I know, this is the only work by Michel Henry that depicts dahlias, and it is an elegant and calm piece that echoes the grace of the dahlia. The movement of the leaves is rhythmic and enjoyable.