René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite vers 1958

Artist: René Mels (1909–1977) – Belgium

Abstract Composition

Technique: work on watercolor paper

Dimensions: 48 × 48 cm

Signature: Signée sur l’œuvre

Towards the end of the 1950s

Condition: Very good condition of preservation

Framing: Sold unframed

Description of the work

This paper composition demonstrates René Mels' full artistic maturity.

The work is built around geometric and nested forms, arranged within a deliberately flattened space, subtly evoking the universe of still life.

The volumes seem to rest on a horizontal plane, like silent objects transposed into a decidedly abstract language.

The color palette, deep and warm, combines intense browns, muted greens, golden ochres, and bright yellows, structured by black contrasts and clear lines that rhythmically define the surface. The visible and controlled touch gives the whole a strong material presence, while still maintaining excellent formal readability.

The work stands out for its remarkable balance between constructive rigor and expressive freedom. It captures the eye with its visual density and reveals, upon observation, a thoughtful, meditative, almost architectural composition.

Artistic lecture

This work can be interpreted as a deconstructed still life, inheriting from Cubism but liberated from any direct figurative reference. The objects are no longer identifiable; they persist as masses, planes, and chromatic relationships. Cubism here is neither analytical nor doctrinal but integrated as a mental structure, serving a sensitive and poetic abstraction.

This dual reading — between pure abstraction and reminiscence of reality — enhances the work's interest and gives it a depth that is particularly appreciated by collectors.

Context and significance of the work

By the late 1950s, René Mels established himself as a distinctive figure in post-war Belgian abstraction. A member of the Art Abstrait group and the Young Belgian Painting, he developed a personal language characterized by restraint, balance, and a high level of formal rigor.

This work perfectly illustrates this period: a moment when Mels' painting achieves a successful synthesis of construction, color, and contained emotion. The choice of paper enhances the intimacy of the piece and highlights the controlled spontaneity of the gesture.

Why is this artwork attractive to collectors?

Work signed by a recognized artist of Belgian abstraction.

Harmonious square format, easy to incorporate into a collection or interior.

Desired period from the late 1950s.

Rich lecture: constructed abstraction and evocation of still life.

This abstract composition offers an opportunity to collect a work that is both demanding and accessible, where René Mels displays the full subtlety of his pictorial language.

A balanced, silent, and profound piece, representative of post-war European abstraction.

Biography of René Mels (1909–1977)

René Mels was an important figure in Belgian painting and engraving of the 20th century. Born in Herent-lez-Louvain, he studied at the Leuven Academy, then at the Brussels Academy, before perfecting his skills at La Cambre.
A member of the Jeune Peinture belge and the group Art Abstrait, he actively participated in the modernization of the post-war art scene. His work, initially expressionist, evolved into luminous and structured abstraction, where line, color, and light interact with rare intensity.
René Mels passed away in 1977 in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, leaving a body of work of great coherence, combining formal rigor and poetic sensitivity.

A composition of great vitality, where René Mels combines freedom of gesture, chromatic intensity, and formal elegance — a valuable testament to his figurative period of the late 1940s.