art brut

« Jean Dubuffet is a french avant garde artist of the 20 th century.

He is known for his collaged paintings and the founder of the art brut.

In 1918, he moved to Paris where he took courses in painting at the académie Julian.

He didn’t finish his studies in art because he didn’t conform with the ideas of the institution, the art world in general and he went into the wine business.

After several failures attempts in others careers, he commit himself to arts definitely in 1942 and he practiced his art until his death in 1985.

In order to understand the art historical movement associated with the painting, “ Paysages aux ardus ”(1955), we are going to focus in various aspects, a brief resume of surrealism and the art informel and understanding the art brut.

First, the surrealist movement was soaring in Europe between the two worlds wars.

Founded by André Breton in 1920's, the surrealist movement was a result of the dead-end of the dada movement.

The revolutionary movement of Breton emphasis on the imaginary and the desire of the artist.

In the post-war period, two art tendencies have surged from the tragedy of the war, the art informel in Europe and abstract expressionism in America.

These new trends in art are related towards radical changes in society from the political to the cultural point of view.

In the case of Jean Dubuffet, we are interested in particular at the art informel.

L'art informel is founded in origin by the french critic Michel Tapié in 1951 at the galerie Paul Facchetti in Paris on the occasion of the group show « Significants de l'Informel ».

He wrote a theoretical text about the art informel, Un art autre (1952) , in which there is illustrated paintings by various artist whom Dubuffet 1 .

This art tendency has a complex relationship with Surrealism.

Tapié believes that the change in values, the esthetic and the lecture in the artwork since the dada can't let the spectator appreciate abstract art.

The proposed artistic movement focus in the extensive density of the material aspects, the artist gives total liberty at the gesture, refusing the traditional conception of the painting, and the thought process that leads the idea to the finished work.

During the time in research of the art brut, Dubuffet has visited various places to observe mental ill artwork and he started to gather 1 Francesco Poli, PostModern Art (Milan: Mondadori Electa S.P.A, 2008), 18-19.. »