Etude pour Pierre Reverdy - Étude

Study for Pierre Reverdy is a large-format canvas featuring an abstract, repetitive pattern, dominated by irregular green shapes against a light background.

This work belongs to Simon Hantaï’s "folding" period, a technique he developed from the 1960s onwards and which became his signature style. The folding process involves folding a canvas before painting it, then unfolding it once the paint has dried. The folded sections remain unpainted, whilst the exposed surfaces are painted. The result is a fragmented pattern and random shapes that are not directly painted with a brush, but revealed by the unfolding process.

The title Étude pour Pierre Reverdy refers to the French poet Pierre Reverdy (1889–1960), known for his pared-back poetry and the importance he attached to silence and the space between words. Hantaï’s work can be seen as a visual translation of these poetic principles: the unpainted spaces act as silences or pauses, whilst the painted green forms represent the words or images that emerge from this space.

Étude pour Pierre Reverdy is an emblematic work in Simon Hantaï’s oeuvre, combining technical experimentation with a profound reflection on artistic creation, chance, and the relationship between painting and poetry.

In the late 1960s, by contrast, the Études reveal the hedonistic side of Hantaï’s painting. Following the interlude of the Meuns series, they return to the ‘all-over’ principle inherited from Pollock, embracing the random and decorative qualities of the folding process. The unpainted, white areas invade the canvas like an ever-expanding plant motif that finds its limit only at the edges of the canvas. The Pollockian influence is combined with inspiration drawn from Matisse: whilst this particular Étude is confined to black and white, others feature brighter, bolder colours reminiscent of Matisse’s cut-out papers.