Hanna Ben Dov (1919-2009) - Belle abstraction lyrique c.1960 - Nouvelle École de Paris

Original work on Arches paper, created by Hanna Ben-Dov in the 1960s, this ink drawing is fully aligned with the lyrical abstraction movement. It reflects a period of great artistic maturity, during which the artist develops a simplified pictorial language based on gesture, rhythm, and light.

Artist: Hanna Ben-Dov (1919–2009)

Technique: Ink on paper

Period: 1960s

Signed on the front

Provenance: Private collection

Condition: Very good overall condition, small signs of wear without severity.

Framing: Sold without framing (images showing a frame are for illustrative purposes only).

Drawing dimensions: 50cm × 33cm.

Description

This remarkable ink drawing by Hanna Ben-Dov powerfully illustrates the purity and expressive intensity of her lyric abstraction from the 1960s. Created with confident and fluid gestures, the composition reveals a subtle balance between energy and restraint. Each line conveys the immediacy of movement, while the surrounding white space amplifies the sense of rhythm and silence.

The artist's mastery of ink is demonstrated in the contrast between dense, assertive strokes and delicate tonal variations resulting from the natural diffusion of the medium. The overall effect gives the work a character that is both spontaneous and deeply meditative, a visual transcription of the artist's inner rhythm.

Works in ink from this period are rare and particularly sought after. They embody Hanna Ben-Dov's desire to free herself from any figurative reference to achieve a pure expression, where gesture and light become the essential subjects of the composition.

Context and biography
Settling in Paris at the end of the 1940s, Hanna Ben-Dov became a fully integrated figure of the post-war artistic avant-garde. Closely linked to Constantin Brancusi, she participated in the Second School of Paris alongside Joan Mitchell, Jean Degottex, Zao Wou-Ki, Jacques Yankel, Tal Coat, and Reginald Pollack.

The works created in the 1960s mark a decisive phase of her career. During this decade, she deeply engaged in exploring ink and wash on paper, seeking to capture the immaterial — light, air, and the passage of time — through means deliberately reduced to the essentials.

Hanna Ben-Dov exhibited in several leading Parisian galleries, notably at the Galerie Cinq Mars in 1960 and at the Galerie de l’Abbaye in 1974. She also participated in major group exhibitions, such as Largentière 1960, which brought together the leading abstract painters of her generation and confirmed her place within European lyrical abstraction.

Importance of the work
This work condenses the essence of Hanna Ben-Dov's lyrical abstraction, blending emotion, rhythm, and spatial harmony. The sobriety of the medium enhances the intensity of the gesture and transforms ink into a vehicle of introspection and poetic resonance.

Created within the intimacy of their Parisian studio, this piece bears witness to one of the most accomplished periods of their work, when their exploration of the fluidity of ink reached a rare balance between spontaneity and contemplation.

A rare and authentic ink drawing by Hanna Ben-Dov, offering a fully realized expression of lyrical abstraction, where each line becomes both movement and silence.