The President of the Republic paid tribute to the master of “outrenoir” who died a week ago at the age of 102.
French painter Pierre Soulages received a national tribute on Wednesday chaired by Emmanuel Macron in the courtyard of the Louvre, a week after his death at the age of 102.
Emmanuel Macron presided over the ceremony in the presence of his wife Brigitte Macron, members of the government and the family of the artist known worldwide for his paintings in infinite shades of black.
“Basically, Soulages had no age. Yes, Soulages is a classic who chose black as the editorial of modernity”, launched the Head of State while welcoming an artist who “radiates the light of his work on France: “He was one of those great painters recognized during their lifetime, but especially in their youth.”
The elite of the world of the Arts reunited
“On this day, the nation wears the black of mourning, but Pierre Soulages taught us to detect the light there. It is the universal and inalienable gift he has given us”, continued Emmanuel Macron in front of the draped coffin of ‘a midnight blue fabric, the court decorated with two large portraits of the painter in black and white.
In the front row, his wife Colette, 101, who shared his life for 80 years and arrived, walking slowly, to applause, as well as his nephews and nieces had taken their places.
For this tribute to the painter of a century, the elite of the world of the Arts were gathered, including many museum directors, Laurence Des Cars (Louvre), Bernard Blistène (Centre Pompidou), Alfred Pacquement (Musée Soulages in Rodez), the permanent secretary of the Academy of Fine Arts, Laurent Petitgirard, the collector François Pinault or the architect Jean Nouvel.
The recognition of the art market
Before Pierre Soulages, the square courtyard of the Louvre had hosted the national tributes of Georges Braque in 1963, of Le Corbusier in 1965 as well as that of André Malraux in 1976, specifies the Elysée. The ceremony was open to the public.
Born on December 24, 1919 in Rodez in an artisan environment that fed his imagination, the painter died on October 26 of heart failure.
For more than 75 years, he tirelessly traced his path, attracting the recognition of cultural institutions and the art market which made him one of the most highly rated French artists during his lifetime. One of his 1961 paintings sold for $20.2 million in New York in November 2021.