Michel Lablais (1925-2017)

Le Commandeur 1984 Mixed media on paper laid down on canvas Signed and dated lower left, countersigned and dated on the back 81 x 65 cm Condition report: Framed French painter, notably collected by Daniel Cordier, Michel Lablais' works are disconcerting: his watercolors feature anatomically described figures of almost scientific rigor. His experience as a cartographer in Indochina, from 1945 to 1947, also had a strong influence on his painting. This singular artist explores his dreams, showing the hidden face of what we think we know. Far from the morbid and cruel, he depicts the living world in a light-hearted, funny tone. "Birth and death fascinate me. But it's the in-between that we need to appreciate and manage as best we can. In my painting, I see people, insects and plants as objects. They constitute a mechanism whose inner workings I want to understand. I see things primarily as theater. But I'm neither complexed nor unhappy. As for my personality, I'm more of an instinctive person than a reasoner. In fact, I'm the opposite of a fanatic. For me, a successful life is one that allows you to fulfill your childhood dreams." (MLD)