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Artpress Essay Rejects Traditional Painting as Conformist

opinion-review · 2026-04-23

A 1996 essay in artpress magazine, titled 'Dans l'histoire : La peinture vue d'en bas,' expresses a strong rejection of traditional painting ('la peinture-peinture'), calling it boring and conformist. The author, a painter, argues for a need for fresh air and criticizes the painter's attachment to the canvas as akin to a poet's attachment to their pages. The piece is a critical reflection on the state of painting in art history.

Key facts

  • Published in artpress magazine in 1996.
  • Title: 'Dans l'histoire : La peinture vue d'en bas'.
  • Essay criticizes traditional painting as boring and conformist.
  • Author identifies as a painter.
  • Compares painter's relation to canvas to poet's relation to pages.
  • Calls for a break from normalcy in painting.
  • Source URL: https://www.artpress.com/1996/12/01/dans-lhistoire-la-peinture-vue-den-bas

Entities

Institutions

  • artpress

Sources