Victor Vasarely, Gordes Synthèse

Engraving (copperplate print) 1948

Edition of 250 (120/250)

Published by: Fondation Vasarely

Printer: Mourlot (Paris)

Catalog: Benavides 169

72.00 cm × 62.00 cm (sheet size)

38.50 cm × 29.50 cm (image size)

Hand-signed by the artist in pencil

Certificate of authenticity included

Condition: Very good

Arches paper

Included in the "Gordes" album completed in 1971

About the artwork

"Gordes Synthèse" is a highly significant work that illustrates Victor Vasarely's transition from figurative landscape representation to abstract visual research.

In 1948, Vasarely visited the hilltop village of Gordes in the south of France and was greatly inspired by the light and shadow, and the relationship between planes and space created by its stone architecture. This experience marked a decisive turning point, leading him to reinterpret real landscapes as visual structures and eventually to Op Art.

In this work, the second in the "Gordes" album, while the specific outlines of the castle and architecture are preserved, they are already organized and reconfigured, integrated into more essential forms. The coexistence of figurative elements and abstract composition clearly shows Vasarely's exploration of the order and rhythm hidden behind the landscape.

As indicated by the title "Synthèse" (synthesis/integration), this work is an important culmination where observation of reality and abstract thought converged.

It is an indispensable work for understanding the development of Vasarely's art, harboring the nascent formative ideas that would lead to his later geometric Op Art.