Jean Fautrier French, 1898-1964

Jean Fautrier (1898–1964) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. He is considered a pioneer of Art Informel. His work evolved over time, shifting from dark figurative imagery to a style that was increasingly abstract and focused on materiality. However, drawing a sharp line between these two periods would be artificial—a point Fautrier himself emphasized by stating, "What matters is the need to paint." Indeed, Fautrier rejected the label of "Art Informel" as a definition for his work. Consequently, his career is best viewed as a continuous exploration of representation and materiality, rather than a simple transition from one style to another.

Fautrier was raised by his Irish-born grandmother, but following her death in 1907, he joined his mother in London. He subsequently enrolled at the Royal Academy in 1912 and later at the Slade School of Fine Art; the work of Turner left a profound mark on him. At the outbreak of World War I, he returned to France and volunteered for military service. However, he was gassed during the conflict and discharged from the army in 1921.

It was after the war that he settled in Paris, living first in Montmartre and later in Montparnasse. He began his career with figurative works—nudes, portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. At the time, his palette was rather dark, with a heavy use of black tones. He also began exhibiting his work: first at the Salon d’Automne, followed by his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Visconti in 1924. That same year, he met the collector Jeanne Castel, who became one of his earliest supporters. It was she, in fact, who introduced him to Paul Guillaume—the man who would become his regular dealer until the economic crisis of 1929.

A turning point in his painting occurred in the mid-1920s. During this period, he shifted toward darker, more expressive compositions—most notably a series from 1927 dominated by the color black. This era marked the beginning of a genuine transformation in his pictorial language. Fautrier subsequently developed a technique based on the thickness and density of the material—often referred to as haute pâte. The surfaces of his works thus became a genuine workspace, where the painting material assumed as much importance as the subject itself. This line of inquiry gradually led him toward Art Informel; alongside figures such as Jean Dubuffet, he became a pioneer of this movement in post-World War II France.

A painter, printmaker, and sculptor, Fautrier simultaneously pursued experimentation across various media and techniques. His body of work reflects a constant desire to reinvent modes of representation without ever completely abandoning references to reality.

Jean Fautrier died in 1964.