René Mels (1909-1977) - Composition abstraite colorée – Circa 1965

René Mels (1909-1977) – Abstract Composition – Circa 1965 – Watercolor on paper – Signed René Mels (1909-1977) Belgian School Watercolor on paper, circa 1965 Signature: Signed “R. Mels” at the bottom right. Dimensions: 50 × 40 cm with mat. Sold unframed. Condition Beautiful bright sheet, fresh colors and well preserved. Stable washes, healthy paper. A few light handling marks and discreet folds, with no impact on readability. The recto remains vivid and contrasted. See photos. Description Beautiful watercolor by René Mels, painted around the mid-1960s. The sheet opens with broad, clear light: pink and pale pink washes at the top, vibrant yellows and whites in the center, touches of cobalt blue, fresh greens, and orange-pink accents at the bottom. On the center-right, dark purple and burgundy forms structure the space without weighing it down. The gesture is free and rhythmic — blue verticals on the left, horizontal swathes at the bottom, quick touches of color crossing the white paper. The watercolor lays color in masses and transparencies; the line remains graphic and airy. One reads a landscape in motion, a summer light or an abstract garden, never fixed. The composition balances construction and lyricism, characteristic of Mels’ maturity in the 1960s. Horizontal format, a joyful and luminous palette. Biography René Mels (René Meulemans, 1909-1977) trained at the Academies of Leuven and Brussels, and at La Cambre. After an early Expressionist phase influenced by Permeke, he shifted in 1947 toward abstraction. An active member of Young Belgian Painting (exhibitions 1947-1948 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels), he joined the Abstract Art group in 1952 and co-founded Cap d’encre in 1963. His work is characterized by a concern for construction, a flexible writing style, and expressive chromaticism. In 1950, a state grant enabled him to work at Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17 in Paris. His watercolors, prints, pastels, and paintings are found in numerous public Belgian and international collections, notably the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

Estimate:$336.06

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