René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite dynamique

Artwork description sheet.

* Artist: René Mels (1909–1977) Belgian School
* Title: Untitled (abstract composition)
* Dating: Early 1970s
Technique: Watercolor on paper
* Signature: The artist's monogram at the bottom
* Total dimensions (frame included): 42 × 32 cm

* Supervision :
* Light natural wood frame
* Black master key
* Framed artwork sold

* Condition: Very good overall condition

Description of the work

This abstract composition unfolds around a dominance of intense blues, expressed in lighter and deeper variations, creating a sense of immersion and depth. Touches of red, green, and yellow punctuate the surface, introducing chromatic tensions that energize the whole.
The gestural quality, marked by hatching and fluid superpositions, gives the work a continuous internal movement. The transparency of the watercolor allows light to circulate freely, giving the composition a generous, measured breathing. The discreet monogram of René Mels sits precisely within the overall balance.

Artistic context

At the beginning of the 1970s, René Mels deepened a freer, more lyrical abstraction while maintaining a formal rigor inherited from his earlier explorations. Watercolor becomes a privileged medium, offering him a space for experimentation where color, rhythm, and light dialogue with one another without any figurative constraint.
In this work, the pictorial space is built through the circulation of color and the cadence of the gesture. The dominant blues evoke an inner landscape, an emotional depth more than an identifiable place.

Biography of René Mels (1909–1977)

René Mels is an important figure in Belgian modern art of the 20th century. Trained at the academies of Leuven and Brussels, and later at La Cambre, he develops a body of work that moves from Expressionism to a structured and luminous abstraction.
Member of the Belgian Young Painting and of the group Art Abstrait, he actively participates in the artistic renewal of the post-war era. His work is characterized by a constant search for balance between structure and emotion, where color and light occupy a central place. He died in 1977 in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, leaving behind a body of work of great formal coherence and poetic quality.

Conclusion

Through its deep palette, its expressive gesture, and its harmonious format, this watercolor constitutes a representative work of René Mels's mature period. Sold framed, it offers a visual presence.