Georges Mathieu exhibition

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An artist serving the city

“Of all the living painters, you are the only one with me who cares about the city! » Georges to Mathieu to Victor Vasarely.During the 1970s and 1980s, Mathieu's art took over public space through architectural projects and sculptures. Among several commissions as part of the 1% artistic system, he created a wall sculpture for the Pierre de Ronsard college in Bourgueil (Indre-et-Loire), and a Signal for the Cerisaie college in Charenton-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne). Some of his monumental sculptures, such as Énergie and Viatha Posthume, are even the subject of small-scale reproductions. *“1% artistic”: system aimed at devoting part of the budget for the construction or rehabilitation of a public building to the creation of a work.

Lyrical abstraction, a style for the 20th century

A monumental relief painting, the Star Factory testifies to Mathieu's desire to invest in all areas and to “bring art into life”. It is not an isolated creation, but the centerpiece of a vast body of works produced by the artist during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in various fields of applied arts: posters, tapestries, medals, porcelain, sculptures, postage stamps… Mathieu's ambition is to be a total artist and to elevate lyrical abstraction to the rank of style of his time.

Facade project, plaster and golden resin

Georges Mathieu, facade project for the Radio Luxembourg building1968, plaster and gold resin on plexiglass background 132 x 90 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Electrified sign with the Antenne 2 logo

In 1975, the ORTF* was replaced by several independent companies. On the advice of Jacques Chancel, the president of Antenne 2 asked Mathieu to imagine the logo for the new channel. This acronym, an intertwined “A” and “2”, remained on the air until 1982. Based on the logo created by Georges Mathieu for Antenne 21975 H. 50; L. 65; D. 14 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee*ORTF : Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française 

Porcelains signed Mathieu

Georges Mathieu created his first decoration for porcelain from the Manufacture de Sèvres for the 1967 Universal Exhibition in Montreal. The pattern takes up the lines of the French flag. In 1968 he again imagined a setting, entitled Versailles, for the Jonc ceremonial service. One of these services was ordered for the Élysée by President Pompidou, who used it when he received the artist. Mathieu also imagines the decoration of a candy box, as well as the brand of the Manufacture de Sèvres for the Fifth Republic - two mirrored "L"s in the center of which appears the name Sèvres - still in use today.

The 10 franc Mathieu

“What an exhilarating challenge, that of expressing a world: France, on two small circles of 26 millimeters. » Georges Mathieu, The Birth of a Piece (1974)The creation of coins is traditionally entrusted to engravers. When he won the competition for the 10 franc coin in 1974, Mathieu was one of the rare painters to benefit from this privilege. Of the 177 candidates, his project undeniably breaks with tradition. The press then praised “the fantasy and talent of the artist”. With this piece distributed in more than 100 million copies between 1974 and 1987, Mathieu allowed every French person to own one of his works. The coins presented in the exhibition were loaned by the Monnaie de Paris.

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The prince of lyrical abstraction

Georges Mathieu was born on January 27, 1921 in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais). Coming from a family of bankers, nothing destined him to become an artist. Self-taught, he painted his first paintings in 1942, in France occupied by the German army. He soon rejected figurative painting and became, in post-war Paris, the leader of lyrical abstraction. This artistic movement, breaking with the geometric abstraction that dominated then, gave him great notoriety in the mid-1950s. Painting gigantic works in a few minutes and often in public, he quickly acquired international fame.

Great artist for the small screen

“Television is a wonderful tool rarely used as it could and should be. » Georges Mathieu, about the 7 d’or, 1986 In 1975, the ORTF* was replaced by several independent companies. On the advice of Jacques Chancel, the president of Antenne 2 asked Mathieu to imagine the logo for the new channel. This acronym, an “A” and a “2” intertwined, remained on the air until 1982. In 1986, the founder of the Césars ceremony, Georges Cravenne, called on Mathieu to design the golden 7, trophy rewarding television professionals. Mathieu thus remains present on the small screen, although deploring the mediocrity of the programs. *ORTF: French radio and television office (1964-1975).

Facade project, on tracing paper & Indian ink

Georges Mathieu, facade project for the Radio Luxembourg building968, cut tracing with graphics, bistre Indian ink on paper 172 x 100 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Trophy sculpture 7 gold

In 1986, the founder of the Césars ceremony, Georges Cravenne, called on Mathieu to design the 7 d'or, a trophy rewarding television professionals.1986, gilded bronze 40 X 17 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Model of the Georges Mathieu Star Factory

At the end of 1966, Georges Mathieu presented two models to Guy Biraud. The first, which has now disappeared, includes a complex garden inspired by one of Mathieu's illustrations for the BC product catalog of 1964, in the middle of which stands a factory with simple, L -shaped architecture. . The second, which won the final approval of the CEO of BC, is this: in the middle of a garden seeming to be a gigantic canvas of Mathieu, it offers an original architecture in the shape of a seven-pointed star, entirely white and crossed by a long strip of windows.1966, cardboard, felt, plastic, wire 185.8 X 120.5 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

A world under the sign of lyrical abstraction

“The civilization of the sign, replacing that of the image, is only just beginning. » Georges Mathieu In 1966 Georges Mathieu was asked by Air France for a series of advertising posters. The artist takes up the challenge of evoking around fifteen countries in his own style. The opening of the first exhibition of these posters at the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris took place in the presence of André Malraux. Nearly 400 exhibitions were then organized in France and around the world, increasing the international reputation of Georges Mathieu. The posters presented in the exhibition were loaned by the Air France Museum.

Illustrations by Georges Mathieu for the product catalog of the company BC (Biraud-Croquez). The adequacy of Mathieu's illustrations with the characteristics of the products manufactured by BC greatly surprises Guy Biraud: "Either this man was a genius with a divinatory gift, or he had fallen exactly by chance. I don't believe in either one. I think he searched, worked and worked again. » The pages above were framed by Guy Biraud himself, who used copper to recall.Guy Biraud (illustration framing) 1964 153 X 33.2 cm (each frame) Private collection (Catherine Bekourian)

Illustrations by Georges Mathieu for the product catalog of the company BC (Biraud-Croquez).

A sword for Pierre Dehaye

“You have given me honor and friendship by offering to create this sword. » Pierre Dehaye to Georges Mathieu. On the occasion of the creation of his medals and his 10 franc coin, Mathieu forged special ties with Pierre Dehaye, director of the Paris Mint. After the latter's election to the Academy of Fine Arts on February 12, 1975, the artist offered to design his academician's sword. Manufactured in the workshops of the Monnaie de Paris in steel and monetary metals (gold, silver, bronze), this prestigious weapon is, according to Mathieu, "elegant, precious and perfectly balanced in its elements and forms like that of the who it is intended for. » Pierre Dehaye's sword was loaned by the Marmottan-Monet museum, with the kind authorization of the Dehaye family.

Georges Mathieu, Viatha Posthume

The original version of this sculpture is monumental (230 x 240 x 97 cm). Entitled Pegaso, it is located in Bellona in Italy. Éditions Artcurial, Paris 1986, gilded bronze 25 x 26 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Model of the Energy sculpture

Georges Mathieu, model of the Energy sculpture for the Île du Pont sports complex in Neuilly-sur-Seine Founder: Landowski 1982 H. 57; L. 41; D. 14 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Facade project, gold paint

Georges Mathieu, facade project for the Radio Luxembourg building1968, polyurethane foam, paper, gold paint 120 x 200 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Georges Mathieu, a hero of abstract art in Vendée

50 years ago - in 1972 - the Étoile Factory in Fontenay-le-Comte welcomed its first workers. Without any right angles, this factory still surprises today with the modernity and boldness of its lines. The man who drew them, Georges Mathieu (1921-2012), is a major representative of French art from the second half of the 20th century. A leading figure in a movement called lyrical abstraction, his ambition was to “bring art into life”. This exhibition offers an opportunity to meet this atypical artist to whom the Vendée Department wanted to pay tribute.

Georges Mathieu, Oxford Street by Night

Oxford Street by Night is the first oil painting by Georges Mathieu. This work was created by the artist based on a black and white postcard of Oxford Street, a famous London avenue. Mathieu worked there for a long time, “for more than two weeks, two or three hours a day”. 1942, oil on canvas 38 X 55 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee © Georges Mathieu Committee / ADAGP, Paris

Projets pour la Tour Elf de La Défense

Georges Mathieu, projets pour la salle de conférence pour la Tour Elf de La Défense1985, aluminium découpé et papier 88 x 33 cm et 65 x 27 cm Collection Madame Mathieu / Comité Georges Mathieu

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Poster for the Georges Mathieu exhibition at the Postal Museum

The exhibition of Mathieu's works at the Postal Museum in 1980 paid tribute to the artist by presenting his postal figurines alongside his paintings, posters, tapestries, sculptures and medals. It was visited by personalities such as Admiral Philippe de Gaulle, Maurice Druon, Bernadette Chirac, but also Henri d'Orléans, Count of Paris, for whom Mathieu had great admiration.1980 157.5 X 118 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Project for the facade of the Radio Luxembourg building

In 1968, Georges Mathieu was asked among other artists to imagine a mesh to cover the facade of the building housing the premises of Radio Luxembourg (RTL). The master of lyrical abstraction proposes a mesh in the spirit of his paintings from the so-called “city” period, but it is ultimately the project of Victor Vasarely which is chosen.

Three photographs: Georges Mathieu on the U construction site

It was probably on the occasion of Georges Mathieu's visit to the factory site in August 1970 that these photographs were taken by Guy Biraud. The arrival of the artist is then relayed by the press. The daily newspaper Ouest France mentions it thus in its edition of August 7, 1970.Guy Biraud (photographer) August 1970 12.3 x 8.5 cm (each) Private collection (Catherine Bekourian)

Bottle covering

Georges Mathieu imagined this design for a bottle of champagne at the request of André Lallier, president of Champagne Deutz. The artist does not hesitate to compare this commission to that of Usine Étoile by Guy Biraud.Decoration of the bottle of Champagne Deutz, vintage 1971 Georges Mathieu 1977 Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Medals

L’Usine Etoile, a palace of industry in Vendée

“The revolution of lyricism that I launched twenty years ago is penetrating into architecture.” Georges Mathieu, La Galerie des Arts, 1964Aiming to be a total artist, Georges Mathieu became interested in architecture in the 1960s. L'Usine Étoile was born from his meeting with an industrialist of Vendée origin, Guy Biraud. Commissioned from the artist in 1966, this extraordinary factory, a star of concrete and glass of 6000 m², emerged from the ground at the dawn of the 1970s. It was not quite finished when the first workers began to working there in 1972... But subsequently, Guy Biraud then Jean-Michel Poupeau, owners of the place, tried to complete the unfinished elements of Georges Mathieu's initial project. The plans and archival documents related to the construction of the Usine Étoile were loaned by Jean-Michel Poupeau.

Facade project, sculpted painted polystyrene

Georges Mathieu, facade project for the Radio Luxembourg building1968, sculpted painted polystyrene 175 X 104 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee

Georges Mathieu, Landscape

1942, oil on canvas 38 X 55 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee © Georges Mathieu Committee / ADAGP, Paris

Lyrical abstraction in medals

The art of the medal, very appreciated during the Renaissance and under the reign of Louis XIV, seduced Georges Mathieu. In 1968, a commemorative medal for the SNCF was commissioned by the Monnaie de Paris. Its director, Pierre Dehaye, continued his collaboration with the artist in 1970: a sumptuous collection of medals: Eighteen Moments of Western Consciousness, was thus born. A new acid engraving process was then developed. , baptized by Mathieu, “Matheotypie”. As always, he does not hesitate to disrupt traditional codes by creating, for example, medals with octagonal or irregular sides...Defender of artistic crafts Pierre Dehaye (1921-2008) is a senior civil servant passionate about the arts. Director of Coins and Medals from 1962, in 1976 he was the first president of the Society for the Encouragement of Crafts (SEMA). Originally, like Mathieu, from the north of France, he devotes an essay to it in his work Art, weapon of souls (1994).

Mathieu author, Mathieu illustrator

From the 1950s, Georges Mathieu, keen to explain the meaning of his works, published works on his art. His books can take on an unusual aspect, such as the triangular format of The Privilege of Being (1966). Mathieu also invests in the field of publishing as an illustrator: he creates original creations to adorn the works of authors he appreciates: Raymond Queneau, Pierre Gaxotte, Régine Pernoud...

Georges Mathieu, View of a Square

Throughout his reflections, Mathieu comes to think that art must express a particular feeling. During the war, he created a series of paintings seeking to reflect his state of mind, including this View of a Place and the Landscape presented opposite. 1942, oil on canvas 38 X 55 cm Madame Mathieu Collection / Georges Mathieu Committee © Georges Mathieu Committee / ADAGP, Paris

Bringing ART into LIFE

Despite his multidisciplinary creations, Georges Mathieu did not manage to elevate lyrical abstraction to the rank of 20th century style. “The creation of a style is no longer developed as in the time of Louis XIV or Napoleon” recognized the artist about the Usine Étoile. This unique building with which he wanted to revolutionize industrial architecture has in fact remained without posterity. L'Usine Etoile de Fontenay-le-Comte is, however, the major work of a man who wanted more than anything to bring art into life, because that, for him, was the role of the true artist. .

Goods of treasure

Treasury bonds of 500 francs (first series À la France) and 1000 francs (second series Au calligramme de la République) illustrated by Georges Mathieu for the Public Treasury in 1975. A Treasury bond is a debt security issued by the 'State and repayable at maturity. Anyone who buys a Treasury bond thus lends money to the State, becoming its creditor. 100% guaranteed, it is a safe investment but with a low return. The presence of the motifs imagined by Mathieu on this type of document contributes to making him an “official artist”. The Treasury bills presented in the exhibition were loaned by the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Economic and Financial Archives Service.

Always bigger, always faster!

At the beginning of the 1950s, the lines and spots on Mathieu's paintings became real signs. They transform into an improvised calligraphy that the artist executes with enthusiasm: a few minutes are enough for him to complete a painting four or six meters long. From this period, the titles of the works take on a historical tone: tributes to sovereigns and warlords, names of famous clashes... The Battle of Bouvines, painted in 1954, is representative of the monumental canvases that Mathieu created then, attracting both praise and criticism, for the speed of their execution and their singular titles. The paintings by Georges Mathieu presented in the exhibition were on loan from the Center Pompidou, Paris, National Museum of Modern Art-Centre for Industrial Creation.

Georges Mathieu, The battle of Bouvines

In 1954 Georges Mathieu was invited by the sculptor Germaine Richier (1902-1959) to participate in an exhibition: the Salon de Mai. The painter decided to present a canvas in homage to the Battle of Bouvines, a victory won in 1214 by the King of France Philip II Augustus over the forces of the King of England John Lackland, the Germanic Emperor Otto IV and the Count Ferrand of Flanders. After months of reading, Mathieu created his work in a film studio on the anniversary of the battle (April 25).Georges Mathieu, Opalescence 1948, oil on wood 104.3 x 74.4 cm Inv. AM 2015-222 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Creation Center industrial

Finally artistic stamps!

“Georges Mathieu is not only a painter… In search of a style for our time, he is interested in all disciplines. » Georges Laveau, director of the Postal Museum.Since 1972, stamps have reproduced paintings by Georges Mathieu. However, he deplores the fact that the French post office does not issue original stamps made by artists. His wish was granted in 1979 when he was entrusted with the creation of a stamp in memory of Charles de Gaulle. The stamps presented in the exhibition were loaned by the Musée de la Poste, Paris.

Projet de mât-signal de l’Usine Étoile, Georges Mathieu

Georges Mathieu created this model in 1975, shortly before the signal mast project, abandoned in 1972, was re-studied. It is a simplified version compared to the initial project, visible in particular on a postcard showing an ideal state of the Star Factory.1975, copper H. 21cm; L. 65cm; D.6.3 cm Historial Collection of Vendée, Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne

Georges Mathieu, Dynasty

At the end of 1949, André Malraux saw paintings by Mathieu at the gallery owner René Drouin. These works, like Dynasty, do not have a homogeneous background, and present graphics which, although done with a brush, are not yet calligraphy. Malraux uses the adjectives vehement and suffered about them. This inspired the artist to title an exhibition in 1951: Confronted Véhemences.1949, oil and arti box on plywood 130 x 162.5 cm Inv. AM 2015-223 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation

Georges Mathieu, Homage to Louis XI

On February 1, 1950, Mathieu learned of the death of his mother. The same evening, he painted Homage to Louis XI, as well as Homage to Death. According to art historian Dominique Quignon-Fleuret, it is with these paintings that signs truly appear in Mathieu's work. It is also the beginning of historically inspired titles. Presented among others at the René Drouin gallery in May 1950, these paintings had the effect of a bomb. The press headline: “Hiroshima Place Vendôme”.1950, oil on canvas 128.2 x 168.4 cm Inv. AM 2015-224 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation

Georges Mathieu, Lothair resigns from Haute-Lorraine in favor of Othon

This canvas was painted by Mathieu in 1954 in Jean Larcade's garden in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, as was the large format Les Capétiens everywhere. Its title, as is often the case with the artist from this period, refers to a historical event. 1954, oil on canvas 99.5 x 194.5 cm Inv. AM 1986-159 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation

Georges Mathieu, Opalescence

In 1948, Mathieu did not yet trace real signs on his canvases. Opalescence, initially titled Deaf Sanguinolence, presents spots, brush strokes and streaks of paint applied directly to the tube which make one think, like many of Mathieu's works from this period, of a sort of living organism.1948, oil on wood 104.3 x 74.4 cm Inv. AM 2015-222 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation

Georges Mathieu, Samba

During his trip to Brazil in 1959, Mathieu paid homage with this painting to samba, a musical genre with its roots in Portuguese Catholic processions and the songs and dances of black slaves from Africa. The artist, on each of his trips, likes to make reference to the culture and history of the countries he visits. 1959, oil on canvas 167.5 x 91.5 cm Inv. AM 2015-227 Rennes, Museum of Fine Arts (deposit of the Center Pompidou, Paris - National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation)

Catalog of the exhibition Antagonisms II: The Object

The Antagonismes II: L'Objet exhibition brings together more than 150 artists including Gaston Chaissac, Jean Cocteau, Le Corbusier, Pablo Picasso, Victor Vasarely... However, it is Georges Mathieu who has the privilege of illustrating the cover of the catalog. Inside is a letter in which Mathieu congratulates the curator François Mathey, who initiated this exhibition. 1962, Paris, Edition of the Museum of Decorative Arts Cover illustrated by Georges Mathieu 22.5 x 15.5 cm Conservation Collection of Vendée Museums

BC product catalog

Guy Biraud is publishing this catalog to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his company. In addition to Mathieu's illustrations, the work includes a Little Unconventional History of Electricity written by Jacques Bergier. A chemist by training, the latter is one of the main representatives of “Fantastic Realism”, a counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s.Georges Mathieu (illustrations), Jacques Bergier (texts) 1964, reissue 1972 29.7 x 21.2 cm Private collection (Catherine Bekourian)

Skinned model of the Boeing Air France 707

Georges Mathieu, painter of speed, is an ideal artist to imagine the interior decor of jet planes which revolutionized air transport in the 1960s. Air France is aware of this: at the heart of the Boeing 707 Château de Versailles, built in 1959 to connect Paris to New York in just 6 hours, a tapestry after Mathieu adorns the bar in the 1st class cabin.Metal, plastic, wood Wingspan 182 cm, Length 186 cm, Height 45 cm. Inv. 2015.2.61 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ France ”, after Georges Mathieu

“Rigour but elegance. Logic but fantasy. Measurement but grace. A deep sense of traditional forms but a revolutionary will. Harmony between man and his surrounding world. Life, immediate expression of the spirit.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Gold jewelry executed in jewelry under the guidance of the painter. Photographic enlargement of a vignette by Lebrun. Ektachrome shooting of each element and photoengraving editing. 100 x 60 cm Inv. 2011.1.481 Air France Museum Collection

Tribute to Nicolas Fouquet

Homage to Nicolas Fouquet is the first tapestry made from a cartoon (preparatory work indicating the composition, patterns, colors) by Georges Mathieu. The artist painted the cardboard for this tapestry between May 19 and 31, 1966. The tapestry itself was then woven by the liciers (specialized craftsmen) of the Manufacture des Gobelins from July 19, 1966 to July 6, 1967. This monumental Hommage to the Superintendent of Finances whom LouisManufacture des Gobelins 1966-1967, lice tapestry, wool 490 x 490 cm Inv. GOB-1146-000 Paris, National furniture (deposited at the Prefecture of Val-d’Oise)

Doorkeeper with the arms of the Republic, after a cartoon by Georges Mathieu

This tapestry is a portière, a very slender piece designed to adorn a door. It represents the arms - or coat of arms - of the French Republic, which consist of a lictor's fasces, a symbol of power from the ancient Roman Republic, accompanied by oak and olive leaves as well as the motto Liberty, Equality , Fraternity.Porter with the arms of the Republic, after a cartoon by Georges Mathieu Manufacture de Beauvais (Cordeau and Gueffier rope makers) 1979, lice tapestry, wool and textile 248 x 181 cm Inv. BV-317-000 Paris, National Furniture

Georges Mathieu, Preparatory work for the rug À la France

This oil on canvas was painted by Mathieu to serve as a model for a monumental carpet measuring 6 m by 3 m: À la France. It represents stylized France surrounded by shapes and signs in bright royal blue, Chinese red, ocher and gold colors. Weaving this piece, designed to take place in an embassy or an administration, required 2,553 hours of work at the Manufacture de la Savonnerie.1977, oil on canvas Inv. SA-32-001 162 × 94 cm Paris, National Furniture

Palace of Versailles, from a cartoon by Georges Mathieu

In 1967, Air France decided to decorate the cabins of its Boeing 707s with tapestries. Installed on the side of the bar, in each aircraft they complete a decor including a painted melamine panel representing the castle whose name the aircraft bears. These tapestries are all made by the main French sewing makers, based on cartoons by great modern artists.Manufacture des Gobelins 1968, high war tapestry 102 x 57 cm Inv. 2011.3.17-t019 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ Japan ”, after Georges Mathieu

“Festivals – ultimate refuges of beliefs. Rolling pantheons. Colorful trance. Purple triumph. Sumptuousness of the colorful obis. Ghost puppets. Swarming miniatures. Neon cataracts. Simultaneous presence of strange Tradition and a familiar modernity. Extreme refinement, delicacy: aesthetics taking the place of morality.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Power of photogravure contrasting with the virgin material of a special vellum with letterpress embossing for the golds. 100 x 60 cm Inv. 2011.1.464 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ South America ”, after Georges Mathieu

“The part for the whole: Rio. The furnace. Fusion. Osmosis. The Spasms of the Transfiguration. The Vertigo craters. The Saltations of Trance. Total unleashing. Instinct rediscovered. The gathering of all energies in a supreme celebration: Tachism in its pure state.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Depth and intensity of the background by superposition of 2 rotogravure blues highlighting the brilliance of the central offset motif. Very great difficulty of identification solved mainly by manufacturing a special paper of perfect stability. 96.5 x 60 cm Inv. 2011.1.464 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ Germany ”, after Georges Mathieu

“The eagle, traditional symbol. Example of oriented abstraction. Neither Charlemagne's eagle, nor Otto's, nor Bismarck's, nor Hitler's: mine. It has the romanticism of Novalis, the authority of Frederick the Great, the majesty of a Beethoven symphony, the nostalgia of the Gothic, the universality of Goethe.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Shine of gold rotogravure overprinted on a black background. Central motif with 2 blacks worked in superposition. 100 x 60 cm Inv. 2011.1.464 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ Israel ”, after Georges Mathieu

“The opposite of Greece, the highest spirituality. The opposite of “Humanism”. Direct dialogue possible with God. The seal of Solomon transformed into a star sparkles from the seven-branched candlestick, made of three tears of hope on the most mystical background of all: purple.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Screen printing for the power of the background and the equivalence of the felt material used by the painter. Offset graphics with white border to recreate the impression of paper collage. 99 x 61 cm Inv. 2011.1.478 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ Greece ”, after Georges Mathieu

“An ideal limited to anthropomorphism. The mind reduced to two dimensions: reason and the senses. The Cosmos brought back to the measure of man. This appears to me to be Greece, whose sky is not much higher than its columns. On the other hand, it is blue.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Photography under grazing light for reliefs. Superposition of 2 blues for the background. Shine avoided thanks to the development of matte inks specially studied in the laboratory. 100 x 61 cm Inv. 2011.1.2749 Air France Museum Collection

Air France poster - “ Egypt ”, after Georges Mathieu

“The sumptuousness of the pharaonic residences. Esotericism, mystery, secret, the underground, the chthonic black, the unfathomable. The glare of death. Lapis lazuli.” G. Mathieu1967, inks, paper Technique: Photoengraving executed from an ektachrome. The brilliance of the golds and blues as well as the depth of the black were obtained by rotogravure. 99.5 x 60 cm Inv. 911.1.443 Air France Museum Collection

Georges Mathieu, The Privilege of Being

In this work Mathieu castigates modern society, which by preventing “dreams, heroism, gestures, desire, the act of love”, would take away from man his “privilege of being”. The artist here becomes the apostle of a singularity that he himself expresses through the triangular format of his book.Illustrations by Georges Mathieu Robert Morel editor, Forcalquier 1967 22.5 x 23 cm Conservation Collection of Vendée Museums

Micromégas

Alongside his creations in the field of applied arts, Mathieu never stops painting. Micromégas was thus created in 1973, the year in which the artist also imagined the sets for an opera by Béla Bartok and a wall sculpture for the facade of the Pierre de Ronsard college in Bourgueil.1973, oil on canvas 65 x 130 cm Inv. AM 2015-229 Pompidou Center, Paris National Museum of Modern Art - Center for Industrial Creation

Georges Mathieu, Landscape

Georges Mathieu, View from a square

Georges Mathieu, Oxford Street by Night

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Georges Mathieu, Lothair resigns from Haute-Lorraine in favor of Othon

Georges Mathieu, Dynasty

Georges Mathieu, Opalescence

Georges Mathieu, Samba

BC product catalog

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Plan de l'usine étoile, implantation générale, version 2

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Plan of the star factory, floor

Georges Mathieu on the Factory site

Photograph of the Usine Étoile portal

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Photograph of the model of the Usine Étoile staircase

Plan of the steps of the Usine Étoile staircase

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Air France poster “France”, after Georges Mathieu

Air France poster “South America”, after Georges Mathieu

Air France poster “Germany”, after Georges Mathieu

Air France “Japan” poster, after Georges Mathieu

Air France poster “Egypt”, after Georges Mathieu

Air France poster “Greece”, after Georges Mathieu

Air France poster “Israel”, after Georges Mathieu

Poster for the Georges Mathieu exhibition at the Postal Museum

Doorkeeper with the arms of the Republic, after a cartoon by Georges Mathieu

Georges Mathieu, Preparatory work for the rug À la France

Palace of Versailles, from a cartoon by Georges Mathieu

A sword for Pierre Dehaye

Bons du Trésor

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Pharmacy jar

Facade project, on tracing paper & Indian ink

Facade project, gold paint

Facade project, plaster and golden resin

Facade project, sculpted painted polystyrene

Packaging of the Deutz Champagne bottle

Projet de mât-signal de l’Usine Étoile Georges Mathieu

Early works

Georges Mathieu's beginnings, in 1942, were modest and marked by his Anglophilia. He paints London landscapes from postcards. These first works lacked ambition, but little by little, the young painter became bolder. In 1944 he had a revelation: painting, to exist, does not need to represent. From now on, Mathieu paints exclusively abstract works. His new creations are pioneering: with Évanescence (1945) he experimented, before the American Jackson Pollock, with the technique of dripping, a process which consists of letting the paint flow onto the canvas placed horizontally. Mathieu found his way. First loves His father being the director of an English bank, Georges Mathieu was immersed in Anglo-Saxon culture. Both an English teacher and an artist, he pays tribute to English-speaking stars by notably providing a portrait of the British actress Margaretta Scott (1912-2005), and by signing his paintings “Gin” in reference to the American Ginger Rogers (1911-1995).

Birth of lyrical abstraction

Once peace returned, Mathieu settled in Istres in Bouches-du-Rhône. Always seeking to innovate, he paints canvases directly from the tube. In 1947, he moved to Paris where he became director of public relations and advertising for an American company. Working to make himself known to gallery owners, Mathieu then discovered that other painters (Wols, Bryen, Hartung, etc.) had an artistic language close to his own. Alongside them, and with the help of art critic Michel Tapié, Mathieu gradually imposed a new abstraction described as “lyrical”, of which he became the leader. “The prophet of informal art” Michel Tapié de Celeyran (1909-1987), art critic but also jazzman, painter, sculptor… is a valuable support for Georges Mathieu. He supported him in organizing “combat exhibitions” against the geometric abstraction which then dominated the artistic scene: L’imaginaire (1947), HWPSMTB (1948), White and Black (1948). Under Tapié's pen, lyrical abstraction is called “informal art”.

The creation staged

During the Night of Poetry, in May 1956, Mathieu painted a 12-meter-long canvas on the stage of a theater. From then on, he continued to paint during public performances which preceded by several years the “happenings” of American artists. Wishing to “reintroduce the notion of play into art”, Georges Mathieu also likes to wear eccentric costumes: he thus presents his Coronation of Charlemagne dressed as an emperor with a flowery beard! The artist's performances are immortalized by Robert Descharnes' camera but also by those of RTF*: many French people discover Mathieu thanks to television. *RTF: French radio and television (1949-1964). The man behind the camera Robert Descharnes (1926-2014), filmmaker known for having been the collaborator of Salvador Dalí, shot two films with Georges Mathieu: The Battle of Bouvines and The Coronation of Charlemagne. It was Mathieu who introduced Descharnes to Dalí, during a trip aboard the United States Lines liner America, the company for which the master of lyrical abstraction worked.

State bed

“If it already seems so old, it is because it is strangely reminiscent of the overwhelming extravagances of Art Nouveau.” L’Express “We don’t know if it is a piece of furniture for a large family or an element of lust for romantic parties.” Combat “A bed, in short, very difficult to place in a traditional apartment! » Le Figaro

The artist's domain is unlimited

In 1962, Georges Mathieu was invited to participate, among more than 150 artists, in the exhibition Antagonismes II: L'Objet at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. For the occasion, he created a monumental ceremonial bed and a 12-meter-high triumphal arch, which were his first creations in the field of applied arts. For Mathieu, it is a revelation: he therefore strives to invest as many creative fields as possible. A Vendéen defender of Georges Mathieu The ceremonial bed that Mathieu presents at the L’Objet exhibition is not unanimous. Michel Ragon (1924-2020), writer and art critic from Fontenay-le-Comte, however, defends this extravagant work. For him, “The highlight of the exhibition, Mathieu’s triangular bed is a spectacle, both a vessel and a Baudelairian couch.”

The meeting of art and industry

In 1963, a major Georges Mathieu retrospective took place at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The paintings presented made a strong impression on Guy Biraud, CEO of an electrical transformer company. He then asked the artist to illustrate the cover of a catalog of his products. Mathieu accepted the order, and even offered to illustrate the entire publication. It was a success, and the number of copies of the catalog tripled! This is the start of a fruitful collaboration. Vendean at heart, Parisian by adoption Born in Fontenay-le-Comte in 1924, Guy Biraud left Vendée during the war to live in the Paris region. With Michel Croquez he created the company BC (Biraud-Croquez), whose activity was first located in La Défense, then in Levallois-Perret. In 1958, he acquired the Lespinay-de-Beaumont hotel, in Fontenay-le-Comte, in order to transfer part of his activity there. But the 18th century building turns out to be poorly suited to industrial production...

The painter dreams of being an architect

“You asked me to be Le Nôtre*, why shouldn’t I be Mansart**? » Georges Mathieu to Guy BiraudIn 1966, Georges Mathieu was contacted again by Guy Biraud. This time, the industrialist commissioned him to design the gardens of a new factory that he wanted to build on the outskirts of Fontenay-le-Comte. The artist does not just design the gardens but also aims to design the architecture of the factory. In the heart of a park crossed by long red paths with curved lines, he imagines a star-shaped building, devoid of right angles. Guy Biraud is immediately enthusiastic about the model of the project that Mathieu presents to him!*André Le Nôtre (1613 - 1700), gardener to Louis XIV **Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646 - 1708), First architect of the Sun King

The factory-work of art emerges from the ground

It was an architect from Fontenais, Raymond Epardaud, who made Georges Mathieu's crazy project a reality. Assisted by Sablais Jacques Launois, he drew up – not without difficulty – the plans for the Usine Étoile. The work is entrusted to the Société fontenaisienne d’entreprise (SFE). At the beginning of the 1970s, the concrete walls of the building began to rise. During his visits to this extraordinary site, Mathieu left lasting memories with the SFE workers and the employees of the BC company. A Fontenaisian architect Born in 1928, Raymond Epardaud is the son of a shoe merchant who ran a shop in Fontenay-le-Comte. Graduated in architecture in 1957, he had a practice in Fontenay until 1974. In addition to the plans for the Usine Étoile, he designed the flat-roofed houses in an atypical neighborhood nicknamed “Bab El Oued” by the Fontenais residents.

Working in a “dream factory”

Revolutionary in its architecture, the Usine Étoile is also innovative in the working methods applied there: a single large assembly line equipped with a conveyor belt occupies the entire ground floor. In the 1980s, when industry gave way to service activities, this level was completely redeveloped. The large assembly hall is subdivided into a series of individual offices. Spikes, on the other hand, have always been able to be used in one way or another, thanks to custom-designed furniture.

National Textile Manufactures: Mathieu in the footsteps of Charles Le Brun

“With equal happiness Georges Mathieu tackles all genres, even those that are conventionally to call minors. » Jean CouralIn 1963, following an exhibition dedicated to Charles Le Brun* in Versailles, Mathieu regretted that the National Manufactures no longer called on contemporary artists, as under Louis XIV. His complaint was heard: a new director of National Manufactures was appointed, Jean Coural. He solicited the most prominent painters to imagine tapestries and rugs. For Mathieu, it is the start of a long collaboration with the Gobelins, Beauvais and Savonnerie factories. In 1969, a major exhibition dedicated to Mathieu was inaugurated at the Gobelins in the presence of Georges Pompidou. He is the first head of state to go there in three centuries! *Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), First painter to Louis XIV.A patron at the Elysée Georges Mathieu exchanged with Georges Pompidou from 1963. When the latter became president, Mathieu became the flagship artist of the Fifth Republic. In 1969, the press even called him “the new Le Brun”. The death of the President in 1974 deeply saddened the artist: “If God had given him life, Georges Pompidou would probably have achieved this rebirth that I expected from him.”

Mathieu and the Paris mint

An unfinished palace

In 1972, the first employees joined Usine Etoile. Due to lack of financial means and due to technical problems, several elements were not built, such as the gate and the signal mast which Mathieu wanted to surmount the building. As for the glass slab staircase imagined by the artist, it was finally replaced by wooden steps covered with blue carpet. It was around 50 years after the opening of the building that Jean-Michel Poupeau, current owner of the factory, installed the gate designed by Mathieu in the 1970s.An entrepreneur under a lucky star Born in 1947, Jean-Michel Poupeau studied watchmaking, developed the first electronic quartz master clock, then created the time management company Horoquartz in 1972. Seduced by the great modernity of Mathieu's lines, he bought the Factory Étoile in 1986 to develop his business there. From then on, he did everything possible to promote this monument, labeled remarkable contemporary architecture in 2003.