EYES WATCHING ME

Saturday afternoon, Nicky and I went off to «La Maison Rouge» - you may remember I went to see the Neon art «Red Yellow and Blue» in February. It’s a small friendly museum although after a couple of hours of Louis Soutter, I came out feeling as if a hammer had hit me hard on the head.

The articles and what I had seen of Soutter’s work reminded me vaguely of Penck and even Debuffet. 

Penck
Head of a Man on a Sqaure background 35-42 Soutte
His work is not really well known here in France and often described as belonging to the «Art Brut» movement or «outsider art». The earlier years are not so original but it is when he goes into an asylum (1923) for old people in Ballaigues in Switzerland and starts drawing or painting with his fingers then he becomes better known. Having little or no money now himself, he uses anything he can find to paint on. Envelopes, paper, packaging.....school books of which there are many containing his designs. Most of these are shown as individual pictures at the exhibition. 

Parfum d'une Rose 1936

The Hero 1937
Back of th Hero - Forest


Finger painting 37-42

Trois Têtes Tropiques - 1936
He was a cultivated man, an accomplished violinist and draws his inspiration from mythology, Renaissance art, classical painting, historical, religious....there is a series of drawings done in the 30’s, signed SD or «Sans Dieu» (Without God») Soutter explains in a letter to his cousin Le Corbusier (1935) «Les Sans Dieu sont des êtres douloureux, une caste pure, surélevée par  le mal torturant de l’isolement.» - «The Without God are unhappy beings, a pure cast uplifted by the torture of being alone». Goodness, how alone and unhappy he must have been in his asylum. Abandoned by God and Man. This was when the hammer began to bang on my brain. His paintings of nature, flowers are less oppressive but that period didn’t last for very long. His work is fascinating as despite his loneliness, there are so many faces, so many eyes which seem to be looking at you. I think that this is one of the reason, I did not feel alone. Pictures were staring at me. Spiny figures were running from all directions.

I could have shown you many. I haven't.

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