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Mathieu Vu Des États-Unis, Des Années 1950 À Aujourd'hui

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Mathieu Vu Des États-Unis, Des Années 1950 À Aujourd'hui Mathieu vu des États-Unis, des années 1950 à aujourd’hui Mathieu, as Seen from the United States, from the 1950s to Today AnnMarie Perl Chercheuse et maître de conférence au Département Art et Archéologie à l’Université de Princeton Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer in the Department of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University 24 GEORGES MATHIEU u cours de la fin des années 1940 et ver the course of the late 1940s and early du début des années 1950, le peintre 1950s, the French painter Georges Mathieu français Georges Mathieu développe developed the signature style that he would A le style caractéristique qu’il continuera Ocontinue to refine through the 1960s and d’affiner tout au long des années 1960 et 1970. Durant 1970s. During this period, Mathieu remained committed cette période, Mathieu reste fidèle à l’esthétique et à to the aesthetics and the ethics of postwar gestural l’éthique de l’abstraction gestuelle d’après-guerre, en abstraction, in spite of new artistic movements, like dépit de l’arrivée de nouveaux mouvements artistiques, neo-Dada, pop art, minimalism and conceptual art, which tels que le néo-dadaïsme, le Pop Art, le minimalisme altogether turned attention away from the medium of et l’art conceptuel, lesquels détournent l’attention du painting. Mathieu believed in the primacy of painting médium pictural. Mathieu croit en la primauté de la and the expressive power of abstraction, even as he peinture et en la force expressive de l’abstraction, et pointed the way toward performance art and sought a ce, alors même qu’il ouvre la voie à l’art performatif et greater role for the artist within society. His paintings cherche à renforcer le rôle de l’artiste dans la société. and performances are inherently interesting but also Ses peintures et performances revêtent un intérêt significant, both art-historically and historically, because propre, mais sont également significatives du point they depart in important ways from our expectations and de vue de l’histoire comme de l’histoire de l’art, car allow us to see postwar abstraction differently and more elles défient nos attentes à plusieurs égards, et nous completely. donnent accès à une autre vision, plus circonstanciée, de l’abstraction d’après-guerre. One way to understand the over half-century-long trajectory of Mathieu is to return to the crucial historical On peut comprendre le parcours de Mathieu, qui moment in the 1950s, when Mathieu became an art- s’étend sur plus d’un demi-siècle, en retournant au world star in the United States. By the late 1940s, Mathieu Certaines des analyses de ce texte ont été présentées à la moment crucial de l’histoire des années 1950 qui had already established himself in the Parisian art conférence annuelle du College Art Association en février 2018. le vit accéder à la notoriété aux États-Unis. À la fin world as an energetic leader and able organizer of the Je suis reconnaissante envers des années 1940, Mathieu s’impose dans les milieux artistic movement of lyrical abstraction, which was then Sabine Eckmann et Angela Miller de m’avoir intégrée à artistiques parisiens comme un chef de file dynamique considered the analogue of abstract expressionism in la table ronde “International Abstraction after World War II: et un habile organisateur du mouvement artistique the United States. This short essay will explain how and The US, France, Germany, and de l’Abstraction lyrique, alors considérée comme why Mathieu’s artwork, which was feted for its virtuosity Beyond,” et pour leur retour sur ma contribution. Je remercie l’équivalent de l’expressionnisme abstrait américain. in New York, all of a sudden came to be considered également Catherine Fernandez et Victoire Disderot pour leur Ce court essai explique comment et pourquoi l’œuvre derivative and even dangerous in the minds of American relecture et leurs commentaires de Mathieu, d’abord célébrée à New York pour sa artists. What were the American taboos that Mathieu sur les premières versions de cette contribution. virtuosité, fut soudainement considérée comme arguably knowingly violated? And how French was Some of the ideas here were imitative, et même dangereuse, dans l’esprit des Mathieu’s work? That Mathieu continued upon the presented at the College Art Association’s annual conference artistes américains. Quels sont les tabous américains same artistic path across continents and for decades in in February of 2018. I am grateful to Sabine Eckmann and Angela enfreints par Mathieu, vraisemblablement en spite of the views expressed by his esteemed American Miller for including me in their panel, titled “International connaissance de cause ? Et dans quelle mesure colleagues indicates that even if he had not anticipated Abstraction after World War son œuvre participe-t-elle d’un esprit français ? their first hostile reaction he was not dissuaded by it. On II: The US, France, Germany, and Beyond,” as well as their Que Mathieu ait persévéré sur la même voie artistique, the contrary, he was emboldened. feedback on my conference paper. I am also grateful to d’un continent à l’autre et des décennies durant, en both Catherine Fernandez and Hommage à Grigny (détail), 1970 dépit de ses éminents collègues américains, témoigne What follows provides only a partial explanation for Victoire Disderot for reading Huile sur toile, 195 x 97 cm and commenting on earlier Oil on canvas, 76 3⁄4 x 38 1⁄4 in. du fait que, s’il n’a pas anticipé leur première réaction Mathieu’s place within art-historical scholarship at drafts of this essay. 25 GEORGES MATHIEU d’hostilité, il n’en a pas été dissuadé pour autant. Au contraire, il s’en est enhardi. Hommage à Ortega y Gasset, 1976 Alkyde sur toile, 194 x 131 cm Ce qui suit n’offre qu’une explication partielle de la Alkyd on canvas, 76 3⁄8 x 51 5⁄8 in. place que Mathieu occupe à l’heure actuelle dans le champ de l’histoire de l’art. Il existe d’excellentes études monographiques sur son œuvre, qu’il convient d’explorer de façon plus approfondie, indépendamment ou dans le cadre élargi de l’histoire et de l’histoire de l’art, dans le contexte français ou américain.1 Bien que la production artistique française d’après-guerre ait davantage retenu l’attention des chercheurs au cours des vingt dernières années, l’histoire de l’art de l’après-guerre, en tant que L’œuvre de discipline, reste dominée par le point de vue américain, Mathieu a ses figures historiques, ses courants artistiques et ses valeurs esthétiques. Pour cette raison, et parce que la 1. Voir, par exemple : Daniel beaucoup à nous Abadie, Georges Mathieu réception américaine de Mathieu au milieu des années (Paris : Jeu de paume, 2002) ; apprendre sur la Serge Guilbaut, “Disdain for the mondialisation 1950 a eu un tel impact, c’est le contexte américain qui Stain: Abstract Expressionism sera ici mis en avant, plutôt que le contexte français, qui and Tachisme”, in Abstract de l’art dans les Expressionism: The International n’en est pas moins important. L’œuvre de Mathieu et ses Context, sous la direction de Joan Marter (New Brunswick : années 1950. réalisations dans le monde de l’art ont beaucoup à nous Rutgers University Press, 2007), pp. 29-50 ; Ágnes Berecz, apprendre sur la mondialisation de l’art dans les années “Grand Slam: Histories of and 1950, dont l’inversion notoire et déjà bien étudiée du by Georges Mathieu”, Yale Mathieu’s work University Art Gallery Bulletin rapport de force entre les milieux artistiques parisiens (2008), pp. 65-74. Mon livre, intitulé The Integration of in the art world et new-yorkais ; comment la pratique artistique s’est en the present. There have been excellent monographic Showmanship on Modern partie distinguée de l’objet d’art discret ; ainsi que les studies of Mathieu’s work, which it has yet to be fully Art, explorera les origines, le [has] much to développement, la réception et origines, le développement et les critères de la peinture explored, either independently or in relation to the l’impact des performances de teach us about la peinture dans la période de the globalization abstraite d’un contexte national à un autre. broader art-historical and historical contexts, whether l’après-guerre, dont celles de French or American.1 Despite the fact that postwar Mathieu. of the art world 1. See, for example: Daniel French art has received more scholarly attention during Abadie, Georges Mathieu during the 1950s. Le décoratif et le domestique the last couple of decades than previously, postwar (Paris: Jeu de Paume, 2002); Serge Guilbaut, “Disdain for the Quand la première exposition personnelle new-yorkaise art history as a field remains dominated by American Stain: Abstract Expressionism and Tachisme,” in Abstract de Mathieu a lieu à la Stable Gallery, en octobre 1952, il narratives, historical figures, artistic movements and Expressionism: The International se fait représenter dans le catalogue, non pas en peintre, aesthetic values. For this reason, and because the Context, edited by Joan Marter (New Brunswick: Rutgers ni en action – comme le veut alors l’usage, aux États- American reception of Mathieu during the mid-1950s University Press, 2007), pp. Unis comme en France –, mais en écrivain et en lecteur, was so impactful, the American context is privileged 29-50; Ágnes Berecz, “Grand Slam: Histories of and by Georges à la façon des portraits d’apparat rococos. Les tableaux here, rather than the French, which is no less important. Mathieu,” Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2008), pp. 65-74. de Mathieu étaient accrochés en décoration des murs Mathieu’s work in the art world and his artworks have My book, titled The Integration of de son appartement parisien.
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