Abstract Lithograph by Jean Le Moal (1956)

Solo exhibition by the French painter and printmaker Jean Le Moal (1909–2007), held from February 3 to 24, 1956, at the Galerie de France in Paris. This is the limited-edition original lithograph that served as the cover art for the exhibition catalogue.

The Post-War "Nouvelle École de Paris" (New School of Paris)

Jean Le Moal was a leading light of the Nouvelle École de Paris and a prominent force in the Lyrical Abstraction (Abstraction Lyrique) and Tachisme movements.

During the Nazi occupation of France, Le Moal participated in the landmark 1941 exhibition "Vingt Jeunes Peintres de Tradition Française" (Twenty Young Painters of French Tradition). This show was a covert act of cultural defiance, exhibiting avant-garde, "degenerate" abstract tendencies right under the noses of German censors.

By 1956—the year of this exhibition—Le Moal’s style had fully matured. He had completely abandoned strict figuration for rhythm, light, and nature-inspired abstraction, which is vividly evident in the bold, cross-hatched architectural gestures and organic blues and yellows of this lithograph.

The Power of Galerie de France

The venue listed, is Faubourg Saint-Honoré—was arguably the epicenter of the post-war European art market. Managed during its golden age by Gildo Caputo and Myriam Prévot, Galerie de France championing non-figurative art, launching or cementing the international careers of giants like Le Moal, Alfred Manessier, Gustave Singier, and Zao Wou-Ki. To have a solo exhibition there in 1956 meant an artist was at the absolute vanguard of the contemporary global art scene.

A Hidden Printmaking Detail: "Ramures"

Note the tiny, elegant French print at the bottom right corner of the catalogue page, it reveals a crucial detail for any print collector or archivist:

"Une lithographie originale, « Ramures » tirée à 200 exemplaires, constitue la couverture de ce catalogue."

(An original lithograph, "Ramures" [Branches/Antlers], printed in 200 copies, constitutes the cover of this catalogue.)

This is number 93 out of only 200 impressions created from the stone,

Mid-Century Ephemera as Fine Art

This piece is a classic example of a mid-century catalogue raisonné practice where prominent galleries didn't just print cheap reproductions for exhibitions; they commissioned the artists to create original graphic art directly on the lithographic stones for the deluxe editions of their brochures. Over the decades, many of these catalogues were disassembled by collectors to frame the original prints, making intact, pristine surviving pairings like the text page and the signed print highly prized.

250mm x 325mm

Some slight surface wear and creasing at the edges.

R1,500