Corneille (1922-2010) - Dans le Désert

Last remaining copy!

Rare 1960 silkscreen by Guillaume Corneille, a founding member of the Cobra group with Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Constant, Dotremont, Alechinsky and Jacques Doucet, among others. One of our last copies!

In the desert - (Niger Valley)

In the desert, between figuration and abstraction, it conveys the impression of the heat felt by the painter under a black sun, in a geological landscape where the four elements fuse.

Corneille and his first wife Henny Riemens, great travelers and fascinated by Lévi-Strauss's lectures and the early film reports on Africa, set out in 1956 and 1957 on the crazy project of crossing Africa by jeep and immersing themselves completely in the continent. Unlike Picasso or André Breton, who accumulated a collection of African objects without traveling, Corneille undertook several trips to transform his love of Africa into living art. Very early, in 1947, at the age of 25, he followed in the footsteps of Paul Klee in Tunisia and reproduced his itinerary.

This rare 1960 silkscreen shows a desert landscape near the Niger River.

Printed on grey-tinted paper in 50 copies. Reference: Donkersloot Catalogue Raisonné No. 85 - Original silkscreen, titled, signed and dated in graphite by the artist at the bottom of the image.

Dimensions: 34 x 49.5 cm
Framing recommended.
Paper yellowed with time. As is, there are creases and veils in the paper. A small loss in one lower corner.

Provenance: Guillaume Corneille's Studio, painter born in Liège to Dutch parents, founding member of the Cobra group with Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Constant, Dotremont, Joseph Noiret and later Alechinsky or Jacques Doucet.