Discovering the Paintings of Jean-Paul Riopelle

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CCI Newsletter, No. 32, November 2003

Discovering the Paintings of Jean-Paul Riopelle

by Marie-Claude Corbeil, Senior Conservation Scientist, Analytical Research Laboratory

Jean-Paul Riopelle is one of Canada's most important artists and one of the few whose works are featured in public and private collections around the world. Initially, Riopelle used oil paints applied generously with a palette knife, working equally well in both colour and black and white to create spectacular compositions. In the 1980s, he experimented with non-traditional materials such as aerosol paint and fabric paint, creating works that are both simple and complex, airy and dense.

In January 2002, CCI began a project to study Riopelle's technique as part of its research program on the materials and techniques of 20th-century Canadian artists.¹ Although such a project was long overdue in view of Riopelle's national and international stature, the task seemed virtually insurmountable given the artist's prolific production. The interest shown by Yseult Riopelle, the painter's daughter and author of the catalogue raisonné of his work, nevertheless encouraged us to take on the challenge.

Unfortunately, a shadow was cast over the beginning of the project by Riopelle's death on March 12, 2002. In the many tributes paid to him, it was noted that Riopelle would survive because of his work, making it, in turn, essential that his work survive. This, of course, made our study all the more important, because it sought to gain a better understanding of Riopelle's materials and technique in order to take the necessary measures to prevent or address conservation problems.

To attempt to identify and understand the physical characteristics of his works, three avenues would be explored: searching the archives and related documents to find information about the materials Riopelle used; examining the real or imminent problems in conserving the artist's paintings; and analysing the materials used in a representative selection of paintings from various periods.

The project began with three and a half months in Paris where I conducted documentary research and examined a number of works in French collections. Although Riopelle started out in Canada, it was in France that he became successful and was active for a large part of his career as an artist. There are, thus, works in France dating from periods in his career that are not well represented in Canadian collections. It was important to examine these works, as Yseult Riopelle stressed.

My stay in France was made possible as a result of the Canada-France Agreement on Museums. I was welcomed by the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF) and received support and assistance from many staff members, both scientists and curators, who provided access to their records and facilitated my work with French institutions. During my stay, I also had the opportunity to examine three very large paintings in the collection of the Musée national d'art moderne as well as Point de rencontre, a painting on display at the Opéra Bastille. This painting, a 1989 gift from Canada to France on the occasion of the bicentenary of the French Revolution, had been treated by CCI and National Gallery of Canada staff before being transported to France.

In Canada, the research project was supported right from the development stage by Ms. Riopelle, who became a key partner. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec generously opened the doors of their storage and exhibition areas for us. Kate Helwig, who is also involved in the project, and I greatly appreciated the assistance provided by the curators and conservators from these three galleries, who always show great interest in CCI projects on the materials and techniques of Canadian artists.

Samples were taken from 38 works, including those in French collections, executed between 1944 and 1992. The project is expected to take four years. The analysis is progressing well and a database has been created to record the information about the works and the analytical results.

1. To learn more about this program, see the article by John M. Taylor in CCI Newsletter, No. 10 (September 1992), p. 9.