Specialemont

Geometric angles and expressive curves intersect in this lively abstract drawing. César Domela was recognised as a leading advocate of geometric abstraction in Paris in the 1940s. He was a founding member of the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, an influential association of abstract artists, formally established in 1946. In the 1920s Domela had been part of the Dutch De Stijl group, exploring pure abstraction alongside Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg. Domela introduced diagonal, and later, curved lines into his work, which spanned painting, sculpture, photography and typography.

In 1948, the year that this drawing was completed, Domela exhibited his work in London at the Apollinaire Gallery. The exhibition was accompanied by a screening of a documentary film about Domela’s work by the French film director Alain Resnais.

Lisa Newby, June 2022