409 - DEBRÉ Olivier, 1920–1999, Seated Woman

DEBRÉ Olivier, 1920–1999, Seated Woman charcoal on paper (traces of smudging) Signed lower right 65 x 50 cm (as displayed). Appraiser: MAKET Gallery The buyer is responsible for the resale royalty. Description: Trained in architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, first in the studio of his uncle Jacques Debat-Ponsan and later under Le Corbusier, Olivier Debré devoted himself to painting in the early 1940s. His encounters with Pablo Picasso influenced his early work, from which the artist broke free with his “sign-figures” of 1950: large vertical figures in which the body is reduced to a mere sign. Drawing—particularly charcoal—accompanied this exploration of human presence. This sheet serves as a reminder that the painter of the grand landscapes of the Loire, whose spirit was akin to that of Pierre Soulages, Gérard Schneider, or Nicolas de Staël, remained committed to the observation of the human figure.