Silvin Bronkart (1915-1967) - Grande composition abstraite

Silvin BRONKART (1915-1967) Belgian School
Untitled, 1953
Oil on paper
Dimensions: 66 × 53.3 cm

Condition: Very good – slight old crease at the top near the right corner (no severity and completely invisible once framed)

Sold unframed

Provenance: Daughter of the artist – direct family collection to today

Work listed in the artist's online catalog raisonné

https://art-info.be/oeuvres/sans-titre-3759

On the verso: numbered annotations, arrows and marks typical of works from Silvin Bronkart's studio (photos attached).

Created in 1953, this large oil on paper (66 × 53.3 cm) represents a pinnacle of his mature period within the Cobra-Reality group. On a vibrant, luminous green background, the artist unfolds a dynamic and architected composition: in the upper part, black, brown, earth-red, and white triangles intersect like a crystalline constellation; at the center, a hypnotic spiral in brown and ochre tones irresistibly draws the eye; the lower part plays with more massive and contrasting geometric planes in red, black, and brown.

The whole reveals an exceptional mastery of rhythm, light, and the painting material – a true masterwork that embodies Bronkart's quest for an autonomous pictorial space, both structured and organic.

This painting is a rare museum-quality piece: substantial format, key year of his production, impeccable family provenance, and confirmed presence in the online catalog raisonné.

An exceptional purchase for any connoisseur of Belgian abstraction of the 20th century.

Masterpiece of mature abstract art by a pioneer of post-war Belgian abstraction

Silvin Bronkart, born Sylvain Joseph Louis Bronckaert (Liège, June 14, 1915 – Herstal/Liège, July 5, 1967), occupies a major place in the history of Walloon and Belgian abstraction after the war. Trained at the Athénée royal de Liège and then at the Institut Saint-Luc (decorative arts section) where his teachers included Jean Julémont and Félix Proth, he won the grand prize unanimously in 1939.

Mobilized in 1940, he experienced exile in France (notably Sète) where he continued to paint despite hardship. Returning to Liège, he settled permanently in the Walloon artistic life, becoming an active member of APIAW (Association for Intellectual and Artistic Progress in Wallonia) from 1946, later serving as secretary and art chronicler.

In 1949-1952, he co-founded with Pol Bury, Georges Collignon, Léopold Plomteux, Maurice Léonard, and Paul Franck the group Reality, the first Belgian abstract collective, which aligned with the international influences of the Cobra movement.

This period marks a decisive turning point: after figurative and symbolic beginnings influenced by his stepfather Edgar Scauflaire, then an abstract surreal phase, Bronkart established himself as one of the great representatives of an abstraction that is geometric, lyrical, and materialist.

His works from the 1950s, rare on the market, are particularly sought after for their perfect balance between constructive rigor, organic dynamism, and chromatic sensuality.

Compared to Paul Klee for his subtle poetry and mastery of material, he explores velvety harmonies, lively arabesques, and a “skin of the world” rich in textures.

Around 1963, he gradually abandoned painting to dedicate himself to worked lead reliefs (“plombs”), an alchemical technique he mastered like a craftsman, creating dramatic and cosmic sculptural works.

His pieces are included in numerous public collections (Belgian State, City of Liège, Musée de l’Art wallon) and have been exhibited in Liège, Brussels, Paris, Ostend, Copenhagen (Louisiana Museum) and in multiple quadriennial salons.