Marcus de Vestele (1941-2024) - Composition Cobra bleue

Marcus de Vestele (1941-2024) Blue Cobra Composition Watercolor and blue ink on paper, circa 1975 Signature : Not signed on the front. Studio stamp on the back: “Marcus de Vestele – Atelier de l’artiste” Dimensions : 30 × 23 cm Sold unframed Condition : Good overall studio condition. Some slight signs of age and light edge oxidation, in line with a work from the 1970s coming directly from the artist’s studio. Provenance : Studio of the artist Marcus de Vestele. Description Lovely abstract Cobra composition by Marcus de Vestele, created around 1975. Four strong graphic signs organize themselves on the paper: a circle solar or ocular with a broad, fluid stroke, a vertically striped totem on the right, and two stacked shapes, almost ideogrammatic, at the bottom. The intense blue, laid down in watercolor and ink, ranges from saturated to more transparent, letting the paper breathe. The gesture is spontaneous, nervous, almost calligraphic. The work fully embodies the Cobra spirit: economy of means, elemental figuration, tension between primitive sign and abstraction. The composition has a presence that is both archaic and modern, akin to ideograms or totems. A characteristic piece of Marcus de Vestele’s paper production in the 1970s, directly from the artist’s studio. Biography Marcus de Vestele (1941-2024) is a major Belgian artist, best known primarily as a marble sculptor (notably in Carrara and with Bardiglio marble). Alongside his sculptural practice, he developed throughout his life a substantial pictorial output, long kept private and today sought after by collectors. Strongly influenced by the Cobra movement (Karel Appel, Asger Jorn, Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille, Constant…), Marcus de Vestele drew inspiration from it to create abstract-figurative compositions of great expressive power. His paper works from the 1970s are characterized by spontaneous line, free gestural handling, and a constant tension between figuration and abstraction. His drawings, washes and gouaches combine the discipline of the sculptor with the lyrical, gestural explosion characteristic of Cobra. Directly from the studio, this on-paper production constitutes an essential and singular facet of his work, occupying a distinct place in Belgian art of the second half of the 20th century.

Estimate:£339.04

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