The Clown, 1981

Max Papart  

Max Papart's paintings and graphics are suffused with sunny humor and the bright colors of the French Riviera where he was born.

Working in the cubist style, he depicted circus scenes, flirting couples, soaring birds and similar cheerful subjects with flat, overlapping planes of contrasting colors and textures.

Max Papart is considered a master printmaker. He was born in Marseille, France and later moved to Paris where he learned the techniques of classic engraving. In 1960, he added to the classic processes the technique of etching with carborundum invented by his friend Henri Goetz. In following years Papart taught printmaking at the University of Paris VIII-Vincennes. He continued making his own plates and supervising the hand printing of his prints until he died in 1995.

One of the most intriguing intellectual concepts which Papart achieves is a "window" through which the viewer senses the past or future, or even another time or place. It has been said the Papart does not "paint," he "composes." His compositions come together in a symphony of line, shape and color. Papart always believed that each painting has its own meaning and needed no interpretation from him. His paintings, in his own words, "force the viewer to think, and it is for the viewer to respond to the art based on his own personal experiences."