73 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 – 1999
Corps à corps à fleur de rose acrylic on canvas, signed and dated 1968 and on verso signed, titled and dated November 1968 30 1/8 x 30 1/8 in, 76.5 x 76.5 cm P rov e n a n c e
Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal Private Collection, Montreal L i t e rat u r e
Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, a similar work entitled Corps à corps à fleur de violet, in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, reproduced page 96
By 1969 multiple solo and group exhibitions, both Canadian and international, had firmly established Jean McEwen’s status as a significant member of Canada’s art scene. That same year, he was named a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and he exhibited his series Corps à corps at Galerie Godard Lefort in Montreal. Corps à corps à fleur de rose is a compelling example from this important period in McEwen’s career. His brief foray into hard-edge abstraction can be seen at the edges of the canvas, where beige stripes create boundaries to the rose and taupe centre. The dappled surface of this centre reminds us of the many layers of pigment contained within its soft, cloud-like forms, which in their movement create a sense of dimensionality. In deliberate contrast, the flatness of the margins, which pull to the front of the picture plane, underscores the inherent two-dimensionality of the painting. A similar canvas from the same series entitled Corps à corps à fleur de violet is in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Est imat e : $12,000 – 16,000
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