André Verdet (1913-2004)

Cosmogonie (Untitled)

Various media, 1964-65

Signed and dated in pencil.

An interesting set of four sheets showing the development and realisation of this linocut subject. This set is comprised of a signed and dedicated painting of the subject, two working proofs of the linocut and an impression of the final state of the linocut subject.

The last piece is a linocut printed in colours
An impression printed in black, blue and light blue from outside the signed and numbered edition of 100.

Watermark: Rives

Note
André Verdet was a creator. His creative input has spanned astronomy, the literary world, poetry, the visual arts and music, all inspired by the region of Provence, love, friendship and life. He was born in 1913 in Nice and in 1918 his family moved to Saint-Paul de Vence, where he would pass away in 2004. In 1937, the year Verdet published his first poems, he met Jean Giono, the bard of the Provence region and in 1941, Jacques Prévert, the French surrealist poet. Both encouraged Verdet to pursue poetry. In 1944, the Commandant Duroc, alias André Verdet, was arrested by the Gestapo alongside Robert Desnos, who formed with Louis Aragon and Paul Éluard the literary vanguard of Surrealism. Verdet and Desnos were deported to Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Repatriated in 1945, Verdet published his Anthology of Poems from Buchenwald upon his return to France. In 1949 he went back to Saint-Paul de Vence, where he settled definitively. It was in 1951 when Pablo Picasso encouraged him to take up painting and sculpture, which he embraced. In the 1950s he became the friend and confident of many other artists such as Matisse, Chagall, Hartung and Léger. Fine art books and a great many essays on painting would come out of these encounters.

Image size: 50 x 37 cm (19.69 x 14.57 in)
Sheet size: 51 x 38 cm (20.08 x 14.96 in)

£700

André Verdet (1913-2004)

Nadine (Abstract Composition)

Linocut and photogravure, 1967

Signed and dated in ink.

An impression with the image printed on the left and a poem by Verdet titled 'Nadine' on the right.

The black form and the text has been created using a photogravure. The colours of the image were added using a linoblock.

This is a composition that the artist experimented with many times using the same two shades of blues and the black form in the centre. The black can be read as the central subject or as negative space.

Note
Bernadette Wilde, better known by her artist name Nadine Vivier, became André Verdet's lifelong companion from 1965 until his death in 2004. An artist in her own right, Nadine inspired Verdet's most beautiful love poems, which he often dedicated to her. She began her own artistic practise in 1971 and in the early 90s undertook a series of works called 'Oiseaux de Lune' (Moon Bird). Verdet referred to her as Nadine Vivier of the birds.

Image size: 50 x 33 cm (19.7 x 13 in)
Sheet size: 51.8 x 66.9 cm (20.4 x 26.3 in)

£400

André Verdet (1913-2004)

Pomone

Linocut printed in colours, 1972

Signed, dated and titled 'Pomone', in pencil.

An impression printed in black, lilac, yellow and purple on Arches from the signed and numbered edition of 175 on Arches. Printed by Imprimerie Arnéra.

Watermark: Arches France

Note
This subject depicts Pomona the ancient Roman goddess of fruitful abundance. The goddess 'Pomone' is also the title of the first French opera, written by Robert Cambert. The partially surviving opera traces the unrequited love of Vertumnus, who attempts to get a kiss from Pomone through various disguises, eventually disguising himself as Beroé, Pomone's old nurse.This disguise succeeds as he knows Pomone would not deny a kiss for her old nurse. This subject is most likely depicting a scene from the opera, as the composition appears to have two figures and an emphasis on the lips of the female figure on the left of the subject.

Image size: 50.2 x 30 cm (19.8 x 11.8 in)
Sheet size: 65 x 50 cm (25.6 x 19.7 in)

£350