Exhibition Showcases Rare Drawings from Private Collection of French Painter Charles Lapicque

An exhibition at Galerie Christian Herren in Paris features a previously unknown private collection of works by French artist Charles Lapicque (1898-1988), highlighting rare monochrome drawings alongside some paintings and gouaches. The show includes pieces like 'Chasse au Sanglier' and emphasizes Lapicque's unique blend of art and science, stemming from his background as an electrical engineer and physicist. Before World War II, Lapicque, then a researcher at the Centre national de recherche scientifique in Toulouse, collaborated with pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on studies of color effects during night flights and camouflage design, which later influenced modern painting. In 1961, André Breton praised Lapicque as one of the ten most important living artists. His career spanned six decades, evolving from non-figurative painting in the École de Paris tradition to a return to figuration with avant-garde color use, anticipating pop art trends. Lapicque's work, associated with post-war 'Nouvelle figuration,' explored themes such as landscape, art history, and architecture, with a constant focus on color theory—notably challenging traditional perceptions by using blue for proximity and red for distance. The exhibition gains significance from the rarity of these intimate drawings, many of which Lapicque had torn apart when dissatisfied, making them scarce in both private and public collections. The event underscores Lapicque's enduring relevance, particularly as figurative painting resurged in the 2000s, and highlights his scientific contributions to art.