72 - Pierre TAL-COAT (Clohars-Carnoët 1905 – Saint Pierre de Bailleul 1985)

Pierre TAL-COAT (Clohars-Carnoët 1905 – Saint Pierre de Bailleul 1985) Still Life with Mirror, 1945 Oil on canvas 114 x 88 cm Signed lower right: T Coat Labels on the back: Henri Benezit, Rath Museum, Geneva We thank Mr. Xavier Demolon for confirming the authenticity of this work. Provenance: Formerly in the Henri Benezit Collection, then passed down through inheritance Exhibitions: Galerie de France, Paris Galerie Henri Bénézit, Paris Rath Museum, “Tal-Coat devant l’image,” Geneva, March 6–May 25, 1997 (color ill. in cat. p. 155) Unterlinden Museum, “Tal-Coat devant l’image,” Colmar, June 14–September 14, 1997 (color reproduction in catalog, p. 155) Picasso Museum, “Tal-Coat in Front of the Image,” Antibes, October 29, 1997–January 4, 1998 (color reprint in catalog, p. 155) Kunstmuseum, Tal-Coat in Front of the Image, Winterthur, February 21–May 3, 1998 (color reprint in catalog, p. 155) IVAM, Julio González Center, “Tal-Coat ante la imagen,” Valencia (Spain), June 4–September 6, 1998 (color reprint in catalog, p. 107) Musée Granet, “Tal Coat: The Fierce Freedom to Paint,” Aix-en-Provence, November 18, 2017 – March 11, 2018 (color reproduction in catalog, p. 113) Bibliography: Quadrum, issue no. 2, Brussels, November 1956, p. 129 (B&W reprint) Jean Leymarie, Tal Coat, Éditions d’Art Albert Skira S.A., Geneva, 1992, p. 57 (color reprint) DNA, No. 139, June 15, 1997 (color reprint on cover) An object of both reflection and contemplation, the mirror occupies an important place in the history of painting. From Titian, with his famous “Woman with a Mirror,” to the masters of subsequent centuries, it offers the artist the opportunity to split reality in two and to play with the boundaries between appearance and representation. In this “Still Life with a Mirror” (1945), Tal-Coat, in turn, takes up this traditional motif, embedding it within a deeply personal artistic exploration. Created in 1945, the work belongs to a decisive period in his career. Having settled in Provence in the early 1940s—notably in Le Tholonet—the artist was then exploring motifs of familiar objects and nature. But behind this apparent consistency in subject matter, a shift in perspective was already taking shape: forms became simpler, color gained greater autonomy, and the line gradually opened up toward a freer expression. This evolution, which led Tal-Coat toward an increasingly stripped-down style of painting throughout the 1950s, makes this canvas a valuable testament to his artistic exploration.