JEAN PAUL LEMIEUX, R.C.A.
JEUNE FILLE SUR FOND JAUNE, 1961
signed and dated '61; titled to the stretcher
9.88 ins x 7.88 ins; 25.1 cms x 20 cms
November 18, 2019
Estimate $25,000-$35,000
Realised: $48,000
This portrait was produced in the middle of Lemieux’s classical period, characterised by space and bare, simplified subjects. Jeune Fille sur Fond Jaune is an exceptional example of this time — a stoic face on a vast background presenting something both boundless and immediate. There is a sense that she will dissolve into the background entirely, the bright yellow radiating from behind her.
The girl’s face, however, is direct to the point of starkness: her eyes are chips of coal under a blunt fringe of hair, anchoring her gaze to the luminous field of yellow. The painting hovers in a guileless balance, the figure elided with the ground — perhaps underscored by the playful jeune-jaune rhyme of the title — while suggesting a moment of reflection in isolation.
Canadian Fine Art
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Meet the Specialist
Kendra Popelas
Consignment Specialist