René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite lyrique au pastel

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

• Artist: René Mels (René Meulemans, 1909-1977)
• Title: Gestural Abstract Composition
• Era: Circa 1965
• Technique: Soft pastel and mixed media on paper
• Dimensions: 53 × 45 cm (with original mat)

• Framing: Sold unframed, with original high-quality mat

• Condition: Very good overall condition of the work – some small discreet stains and imperfections on the original mat (see detailed photos)

• Signature: Signed in full “R. Mels” at the bottom right

Description of the work

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

The gesture is at once 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 engraving in the handling of line and matter: etchings, overlays and relief effects give this pastel a rich and living texture.

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

Biography
René Mels, real name René Meulemans (Herent, April 14, 1909 – Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, December 15, 1977), is a Belgian artist in every sense: painter, draftsman, etcher, sculptor, ceramist and glass maestro.

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

An undisputed master of engraving (123 works donated to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium), he transposes this tactile sensibility into his drawings and pastels. His abstract compositions of the 1960s, often structured around the golden ratio, are among his most accomplished works.

His works are held in numerous public and private collections: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels’ Books and Prints Cabinet, Leuven Museum, Gaspar Museum (Arlon), National Library of Paris, etc.