Michel Henry [Notre Dame de Paris] Oil painting No. 8F [Framed]

Works made before 1990

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.

Work Description

Many artists have painted Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from this angle. This is probably because it has a more three-dimensional feel than the flat front view, and allows the artist to depict the three-dimensional beautiful shape of the entire building. It is a building that symbolizes Paris along with the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower. While the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and the Eiffel Tower were built in the 19th century, Notre Dame Cathedral was built over 100 years in the 12th and 13th centuries and is said to be the greatest masterpiece of medieval Gothic architecture. The magnificent and majestic Notre Dame Cathedral, with its spire reaching for the sky, is confronted by a single rose placed on the bank of the Seine. Michel Henry seems to be asking which is more beautiful: this world-class cathedral boasting a magnificent medieval appearance, or a single rose. When Michel Henry paints both the single flower that he loves and Paris, he must be enveloped in deep happiness. Between Notre Dame and the roses, the surface of the Seine is painted, reflecting the blue sky and light, and branches and leaves hang from the upper left of the canvas. The perspective technique of depicting objects between the foreground and background is a technique that Europe learned from Japanese ukiyo-e. The sparkling surface of the Seine flows quietly between a single, delicate rose and the towering Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been watching over Paris since the Middle Ages. This painting is filled with the joy and happiness of living in Paris.

Gallery Adeka Yasuhiro Takeda