Presentation

Georges Mathieu was a famous French painter, he was born in 1921 in Boulogne sur Mer in Nord Pas de Calais and passed way in 2012 in Boulogne-Billancourt. He is known to have triggered the Lyrical Abstraction movement. He studied arts and philosophy at Lille University and then began painting in 1942.

Georges Mathieu quickly turned against geometric abstraction which gives importance to form and structure, and leaned on American gestural painting, which gives more leeway. He became the promoter of Lyrical abstraction, a movement which doesn't restrain itself and breaks away from traditional artistic codes. He drew inspiration from American Action Painting as he admired the followers and philosophy. In 1947, during his first exhibition at the New Reality fair, he stated: Freedom is empty". 1950 onward, an element of Lyrical abstraction is conceptualized: tachism, which refers to paintings of Georges Mathieu, symbol of informal art, as the projection creates spots, splashes and drips. The aim is to give as much freedom to the material, by influencing their movement in a minimal manner. The aim is to paint spontaneously, furtively and without thinking things through, letting yourself evolve peacefully. It's important to detach oneself from any artistic compliance. Georges Mathieu doesn't use any tool, and goes beyond technique. He paints directly with the color tubes. The artist created several works publicly. Malraux calls him "The Western calligrapher".
In 1985, the artist took things further and made a final turning point with his painting: he didn't restrain himself to the central form, vestige of classic artistic rules. The artist takes control over the entire canvas.

Deeply convinced that an artist shouldn't remain in his ivory tower, Georges Mathieu became active in the public sector.

In 1947, he became public relations director of the American company, United States Lines in Paris. 1953 onward, he became editor in chief for a period of 10 years.
The artist has a passion for traveling, and went to USA, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Lebanon, Israel, Canada and almost in all European countries. His travels trigger realization and duty as a citizen. He realized stakes were too high those days and it was high time to reconcile man with his environment. This is when Georges Mathieu began a series of manual works, involving furniture, jewellery,tapestries, fountains, posters, medals, stamps and he even created new 10 franks coins.
Through the same logic, he created several monumental sculptures, mainly for the Sports complex in Neuilly, Tour Elf-Aquitaine of La Défense, C.E.S Charenton, for the town halls in Orleans, Boulogne-Billancourt, Brive...
Georges Mathieu was a committed artist, as he realized the role of education in society. He struggled for an education which gives priority to raising awareness, therefore gives advantage to reason, man's progress through economic evolution. In 1976, he became the Administrator of the Society for arts and crafts and Member of the Commission for reforming artistic teaching.

Georges Mathieu did over 120 individual exhibitions during his career, especially in New-York, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Bahrain, Tunis, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo and in all major metropolis of the world. His creations are part of more than 79 museums and public collections.
Read more
All artworks of Georges Mathieu
Painting, Feuilles Solitaires, Georges Mathieu

Feuilles Solitaires

Georges Mathieu

Painting - 73 x 92 x 1 cm

$169,395

Painting, Ozaka, Georges Mathieu

Ozaka

Georges Mathieu

Painting - 54.5 x 78.5 x 1 cm

$111,236

Painting, Untitled, Georges Mathieu

Untitled

Georges Mathieu

Painting - 73 x 92 x 5 cm

Price upon request

Print, Mathieu, Georges Mathieu

Mathieu

Georges Mathieu

Print - 72 x 53 x 1 cm

Sold

Discover our selections of works by artists

Need help finding your favorite? Consult our selection pages made for you.
Need to know more?

Who is the artist?

Georges Mathieu was a famous French painter, he was born in 1921 in Boulogne sur Mer in Nord Pas de Calais and passed way in 2012 in Boulogne-Billancourt. He is known to have triggered the Lyrical Abstraction movement. He studied arts and philosophy at Lille University and then began painting in 1942.Georges Mathieu quickly turned against geometric abstraction which gives importance to form and structure, and leaned on American gestural painting, which gives more leeway. He became the promoter of Lyrical abstraction, a movement which doesn't restrain itself and breaks away from traditional artistic codes. He drew inspiration from American Action Painting as he admired the followers and philosophy. In 1947, during his first exhibition at the New Reality fair, he stated: Freedom is empty". 1950 onward, an element of Lyrical abstraction is conceptualized: tachism, which refers to paintings of Georges Mathieu, symbol of informal art, as the projection creates spots, splashes and drips. The aim is to give as much freedom to the material, by influencing their movement in a minimal manner. The aim is to paint spontaneously, furtively and without thinking things through, letting yourself evolve peacefully. It's important to detach oneself from any artistic compliance. Georges Mathieu doesn't use any tool, and goes beyond technique. He paints directly with the color tubes. The artist created several works publicly. Malraux calls him "The Western calligrapher". In 1985, the artist took things further and made a final turning point with his painting: he didn't restrain himself to the central form, vestige of classic artistic rules. The artist takes control over the entire canvas.Deeply convinced that an artist shouldn't remain in his ivory tower, Georges Mathieu became active in the public sector.In 1947, he became public relations director of the American company, United States Lines in Paris. 1953 onward, he became editor in chief for a period of 10 years.The artist has a passion for traveling, and went to USA, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Lebanon, Israel, Canada and almost in all European countries. His travels trigger realization and duty as a citizen. He realized stakes were too high those days and it was high time to reconcile man with his environment. This is when Georges Mathieu began a series of manual works, involving furniture, jewellery,tapestries, fountains, posters, medals, stamps and he even created new 10 franks coins.Through the same logic, he created several monumental sculptures, mainly for the Sports complex in Neuilly, Tour Elf-Aquitaine of La Défense, C.E.S Charenton, for the town halls in Orleans, Boulogne-Billancourt, Brive...Georges Mathieu was a committed artist, as he realized the role of education in society. He struggled for an education which gives priority to raising awareness, therefore gives advantage to reason, man's progress through economic evolution. In 1976, he became the Administrator of the Society for arts and crafts and Member of the Commission for reforming artistic teaching. Georges Mathieu did over 120 individual exhibitions during his career, especially in New-York, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Bahrain, Tunis, Singapore, Paris, Tokyo and in all major metropolis of the world. His creations are part of more than 79 museums and public collections.

What are their 3 main works?

What is Georges Mathieu’s artistic movement?

The artistic movements of the artists are: Art Informel

When was Georges Mathieu born?

The year of birth of the artist is: 1921