René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite lyrique

René Mels (1909-1977) – Gestural Abstract Composition – Soft pastel and mixed media on paper – Circa 1965 – Signed in full

Artwork Details

• Artist: René Mels (René Meulemans, 1909-1977)
• Title: Gestural Abstract Composition
• Era: Circa 1965
• Dimensions: 53 × 45 cm (including original mat)
• Framing: Sold unframed, with original high-quality mat
• Condition: Very good overall – a few small discreet stains on the mat (see photos)

Signature: Signed in full “R. Mels” and monogram “M” bottom right.

Here is a powerful and lyrical work by René Mels, a major figure in post-war Belgian abstraction.
Dated around 1965, this abstract composition reveals the artist’s maturity in a fully gestural period. On a neutral gray paper background, Mels unfolds an energetic and sensitive writing: nervous strokes, dynamic scribbles, and vibrant color masses that collide. The deep blue, the bright white, the intense black and touches of emerald green create a chromatic dialogue of great intensity, typical of his lyrical abstract style.

The gesture is both controlled and free, structured by a balanced composition that recalls the artist’s interest in the golden ratio. One can sense the influence of his mastery of printmaking in the handling of line and material: scratchings, overlapping and embossing effects give this drawing a rich and lively texture.

A representative work of Mels’s best period, perfect for lovers of Belgian abstraction of the 1960s.

Biography
René Mels, born René Meulemans (Herent, April 14, 1909 – Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, December 15, 1977), was a Belgian all-around artist: painter, draftsman, etcher, sculptor, ceramist and master glassmaker.

Trained at the Catholic University of Leuven (under Alfred Delaunois), then at the Brussels Academy (1930-1933) and La Cambre (1937-1938), he began in a figurative Expressionist style before moving toward abstraction from 1947. He joined the group Jeune Peinture Belge, stayed in Paris (state stipend, 1950) and worked at Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17. In 1952, he joined the Art Abstrait group and co-founded in 1963 the printmakers’ group Cap d’Encre.

A master of engraving (123 works donated to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium), he transfers this material sensitivity into his drawings and paintings.

His abstract compositions from the 1960s, often centered around the golden ratio, are among his most accomplished works.

His works are in numerous public and private collections: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Cabinet of Prints in Brussels, Leuven University Museum, Gaspar Museum (Arlon), Bibliothèque nationale de Paris,