All of Auguste Herbin's palettes at the Montmartre Museum

undefined undefined 18 juin 2024 undefined 16h00

The Editor

© Courtesy Galerie Lahumière / Paris / ADAGP 2023

Announcement

Until September 15th, the Montmartre Museum, a true gem in the capital, invites you to discover the complete and diverse work of Auguste Herbin. The very first Parisian retrospective dedicated to the artist, this exhibition, as colorful as a field of tulips in full bloom in April, allows us to see the full extent of the talent of this artist who is all too often unrecognized.

Many are probably unaware of the name Auguste Herbin. However, this unique painter, who spent most of his life working in Paris, is definitely one of those who deserve to be highlighted more. And for good reason, Herbin is an endless creative genius, with an unmatched capacity for innovation and breakthroughs, and simply stunning works of art. A Multiplicity of Styles It would probably be impossible to summarize Auguste Herbin's work in a few words. He was at once an adherent of impressionism, fauvism, cubism, and abstract art, presenting himself today at the Montmartre Museum as a painter with multiple facets, as complex as he is interesting. Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, Picasso—his influences and friends follow one another and are not alike, and one thing is for sure, it shows.

This precocious painter, who created his first canvases at just 14 years old, and continued to create until his death 64 years later, had time to explore various paths and evolve in the realm of creation. He didn't hesitate to push it to the extreme by even inventing his own alphabet, composed solely of shapes and colors. A rather fascinating process, which is primarily a means for the artist to break free from any constraints and thus achieve total freedom.

This will is evident throughout the exhibition, in each of the paintings which, even though they once sparked some confusion - if not downright outrage - can now only leave us in awe. But amidst this profusion of styles, these mixtures of shapes, curves, abstract landscapes and...Portraits with disturbing realism, a common factor runs through the painter's work.

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An Ode to Color

Even before stepping into the exhibition, just by looking at the beautiful poster, you already know what to expect. Throughout the rooms, there will be only one rule: color above all. Throughout his career, Auguste Herbin had no other goal than to break free.of form to free color, and place it at the center of his art.

Through a hundred paintings, sometimes against his contemporaries, Herbin never deviates from this love of hue and nuance, as can be seen with his monumental objects on wood, three-dimensional works that are absolutely fascinating, that one never tires of observing from every angle. The same goes for his abstract works with striking contrasts, inspired by Goethe's theories on color.

Articulated around seven distinct creative periods, extremely complementary, the exhibition highlights each facet of this former resident of the famous Bateau-Lavoir (frequented by Picasso and Braque, among others), where he created for 18 years. A perfect portrait that restores all its nobility to one of the most underrated artists of modern art, leaving us with eyes full of colors and a slightly lighter heart!


Auguste Herbin, the master revealed
Museum of Montmartre
12, rue Cortot – 18th
From March 15 to September 15, 2024
More information and tickets