Boncompain: Les lieux d'origine / Places of origin
Paris, France: Fragments Editions, 1997.
Hardcover.
Text in French & English. A beautiful monograph of the works of modern French master artist Pierre Boncompain (born in Provence in 1938). The charm of Provence is captured in Boncompain’s paintings, pastels and works on paper. His themes - nudes, still-lifes and landscapes - are infused with intense color, expressive line, and flat, patterned surfaces.
From Michel Deon’s foreword: "The painted works of Pierre Boncompain are to be found complete in his rapid sketches. It is amazing that the paintings which follow resemble them so faithfully. The first impression was right and strong. The rest is just hard work and I would dare to say does not concern us, only the mature, finished work, framed and hanging on the picture rail as it will appear to us, the artist being, on principle a modest person who spares us his pain, his doubts and that terrible feeling which is the anguish of his dissatisfaction. But, in the drawings we have not yet reached this state: his hand has vivaciously repeated that which his eyes had discovered in wonder. This being said, let us not be mistaken: this so sensitive eye has already made its choice, has disdained everything which is uninteresting to the artist’s profound nature, it has only seen what it likes to see and this album is a striking self-portrait, the highly powerful image of a man who recognizes himself, finds himself in other faces, in shapes in repose, in trees, flowers."
Item #901112ISBN: 2908066858
9-1/4 x 12”, blue paper over boards, silver titles, 189pp, fully illus. in vivid color.
Bold ink owner’s inscription first free endpaper, else near fine in spine-faded dust wrapper with a bit of creasing to edges and in protective mylar.
Price: $185.00