Michel Henry "The Red Symphony of Coquelicot and Cherry" Oil painting No. 25

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.

What a painting! The canvas is full of red, red and more red. The only exceptions are the petals, the small buds and the cherry stems, the light green and white haze dots scattered here and there. In this way, the painting is done using only the same colors, and the shapes of the objects. The composition is beautiful and the whole painting shines brightly. The beauty of the coquelicots and cherries is amazing, but the transparent space that shines like crystal under the transparent vase and reflects the shadow of the object is also wonderful. The effect of the highly saturated green and white that radiates and diffuses is also amazing. Looking at this painting, I can't help but sigh at how beautiful it is. It is said that the master of haiku, Matsuo Basho, was so moved by the pitiful appearance of Matsushima during his journey on the Oku no Hosomichi that he was at a loss for words and muttered, ``Matsushima, oh Matsushima, Matsushima.'' I too am at a loss for words in front of this painting by the genius Michel Henry. I once heard Michel Henry say, " There are times when a painting surpasses me ." In other words, he was saying that sometimes a beautiful painting would be completed that was beyond his expectations . Michel Henry is always clearly conscious of what he wants to paint and how he wants to paint, while being guided by inspiration. Therefore, he uses his skill as a painter to guide the painting according to his own intentions and create a highly finished painting. However, it is strange that sometimes a beautiful painting is completed that far exceeds his expectations. Perhaps the god of beauty sometimes shows Michel Henry a revelation that it is not Michel Henry who creates beauty, but the domain of God.

This painting of Coquelicot and cherries, with reds and reds resonating with each other, is surely a painting that surpasses Michel Henry himself. I have seen dozens of Coquelicot bouquets by Michel Henry in the past, but I have never seen a Coquelicot bouquet so full of light, with such brilliant colors, reds in harmony with each other, and elegantly composed objects. It can only be said that this is a painting that draws out the unknown realm of a god or genius.

Gallery Adeka Yasuhiro Takeda