31 Facts About Georges Mathieu

Georges Mathieu was a French abstract painter, art theorist, and member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Georges Mathieu is considered one of the fathers of European lyrical abstraction, a trend of informalism.

Georges Mathieu obtained a position as an English teacher in 1942 at the lycee of Douai in the north of France.

Georges Mathieu then worked for the United States Lines in charge of public relations on the line between New York City and Le Havre: his function was to welcome and accompany the travelers during their move between Le Havre and Paris.

Georges Mathieu meets Salvador Dali for the first time on his occasion.

Georges Mathieu founded the first artistic group L'Imaginaire with Wols, Jean-Michel Atlan, Hartung, Bryen, Riopelle and exposes with fourteen painters at the Galerie du Luxembourg on 16 December 1947.

Georges Mathieu promoted an art free from the constraints of figurative paintings and defining the concept of Lyrical Abstraction.

Georges Mathieu painted his first large canvases as soon as 1952.

In 1965, Georges Mathieu exposed a hundred paintings at the Galerie Charpentier.

Georges Mathieu executed for this event Paris, Capitale des Arts, a giant canvas featuring primary colors on a blue background.

Georges Mathieu received the Legion of Honour and is Commander of Arts and Letters.

Georges Mathieu advocated for the embellishment of cities, the improvement of the design of everyday objects and the debasement of culture organised by mass medias.

Georges Mathieu made influential contributions to decorative arts, craftsmanship and architecture.

Georges Mathieu finally initiated political workgroups with Pierre Dehaye in 1980 to reform the cultural education at the French ministry of education and submitted a bill presented to the French parliament.

Georges Mathieu died on 10 June 2012 at 91 years old in Boulogne-Billancourt and lies in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.

From 1947 Georges Mathieu published several manifestos to define his conception of a lyrical abstraction.

Georges Mathieu reacted consistently against greco-Latin classicism, Renaissance's legacy and all forms of later geometric abstraction.

Georges Mathieu tried to move the artist and the observer closer.

Georges Mathieu handled brushes, flannels or painted directly out of the tube.

Georges Mathieu pioneered dripping techniques in some of his early works, as in 1945 Evanescence.

Georges Mathieu painted most of his major works and wrote most of his essays on Sundays.

The first abstract works of Georges Mathieu featured organic shapes, "shapes with no possible signification".

In 1970 Georges Mathieu focused on the equilibrium between balance and vividness, and showed central shapes on a uniform blocks of color.

From 1984 Georges Mathieu achieved what he calls a "cosmic turning point" in his painting.

Georges Mathieu's compositions did not favor a center anymore: the graphical elements multiplied on the canvas, the painting found its balance by the tension between these elements.

Georges Mathieu admitted a deep passion for history, especially for the Middle-Ages.

Georges Mathieu nonetheless admitted having chosen titles in relation to the place where the canvas had been painted, the day it had been performed, or its tone.

In 1964 Georges Mathieu carried out architectural plans for the city of Castellas.

Georges Mathieu considered handcrafts to have experienced little evolution during the 20th century and worked with French national factories.

Georges Mathieu produced many tapestries in partnership with the Manufacture nationale des Gobelins in Paris.

Some of Georges Mathieu's work have been adapted as national stamps designs.