René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite lyrique - 1970

René Mels (1909-1977) – Gestural Abstract Composition – Pastel and mixed media on paper – 1970 – Signed and dated

Details

• Artist: René Mels (René Meulemans, 1909-1977)
• Title: Gestural Abstract Composition
• Date: 1970 (dated)
• Dimensions: 53 × 45 cm (with original mount)
• Technique: Pastel and mixed media on grey tinted paper
• Framing: Sold unframed, with original high-quality mount

• Condition: Very good overall. A few small discreet stains on the mount (visible in photos). The artwork itself is in excellent condition.

• Signature: Signed and dated bottom right “R. Mels 1970”

Description
Here is a beautiful and powerful work by René Mels, an important figure in Belgian postwar abstraction. Dated 1970, this gestural composition testifies to the artist’s full maturity in his lyrical abstract period.

On a neutral grey paper background, Mels unfolds an energetic and sensitive script: nervous strokes, dynamic scratches, vibrant color masses, and overlays that create a true plastic tension.

The deep blue (cobalt and ultramarine), lemon yellow and chartreuse green, bright white and intense blacks clash forcefully while maintaining a beautiful chromatic coherence.

The gesture is both free and structured. One senses the masterful engraving in the handling of line and matter: bold passages, rubbing, relief effects, and areas of dilution give the drawing a rich and lively texture. The composition, though highly dynamic, remains balanced, with a brighter, airier upper part and a denser, more rhythmical lower area, almost calligraphic.

A representative work of Mels’s best abstract period, both powerful and sensitive, appealing to lovers of Belgian abstraction from the 1960s–1970s.

Biography:
René Mels, real name René Meulemans (Herent 1909 – Woluwe-Saint-Lambert 1977), is a versatile Belgian artist: painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, ceramicist, and master glazier.

Trained at the Catholic University of Leuven and then at La Cambre, he quickly moved toward abstraction after 1947. He stayed in Paris in 1950 (atelier of Stanley William Hayter) and co-founded in 1963 the printmaker group Cap d’Encre.

A undeniable master of engraving (123 works in the Cabinet of Prints of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium), he translates into his pastels and drawings of the 1960s–1970s the same material and rhythmic demands. His abstract compositions, often structured around the golden ratio, are among his most accomplished works.

Works in public collections: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Cabinet of Prints of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, University Library of Leuven, Gaspar Museum (Arlon), Bibliothèque nationale de France, etc.