Bande Noire

Artist Serge Poliakoff (Moscow, Russia, 1906 - 1969)

Datec. 1965

Mediumcoloured etching and aquatint on paper

ClassificationsPrints

DimensionsPlate Size: Height: 63 cm, Width: 47.3 cm
Frame: Height: 89 cm, Width: 72.5 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1977.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG000084

Keywords

Abstract

About MeSerge Poliakoff’s distinctive form of abstraction drew its inspiration from diverse visual sources. His Russian background and his early encounter with religious icons from the Russian Orthodox Church made a lasting impression on his career.

This work is a striking late example of the artist’s Tachisme style which he developed in France alongside Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Soulages and Nicolas de Staël. Tachisme is a French style of abstract painting, popular in the 1940s and 1950s, which favoured an intuitive form of painting characterised by the casual approach to compositions and colours. This work features the dialogue between interlocking coloured shapes and abstract forms which are intended to evoke a meditative world of peace and sublimity in the same way as the tradition of religious Russian icon painting familiar to Poliakoff.