Provenance: Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York. Exposition 2009, Riopelle, au-delà du all-over: les années soixante, Galerie Simon Blais Montréal.

Yseult Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle, Catalogue raisonné, volume 3, Hibou Éditeurs, Montréal, 2009, p. 260, reproduit en couleurs sous la référence 1962.013P.1962

Jean-Paul Riopelle was in his forties when he produced this delicate work on paper. The artist was at the height of his popularity in the early 1960s, settled in Paris for some time, he rubbed shoulders with the tenors of abstract expressionism such as Zao Woo-Ki and Joan Mitchell who would inevitably have a mutual influence.

This decade is marked by the exploration of different techniques such as gouache, pastel, inks and engraving. A plethora of works on paper are born. The fluidity and delicacy of the colors contrasts with those of the strong and assertive oil paintings produced at the same time.

Riopelle represented Canada for a second time at the Venice Biennale in 1962. The same year, he won a UNESCO prize. Following this event, the National Gallery of Canada produced the Jean-Paul Riopelle exhibition. Painting and sculpture that will circulate in various Canadian cities and in Washington.