Autographs, African Art, Sterling

Autographs, African Art, Sterling

Catalog

Lot 195: Gilles Rieu Mixed Media Abstract Painting on Canvas Black Background

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Start price: $50

Estimated price: $400 - $750

Buyer's Premium:

Mixed media abstract composition on canvas attributed to Gilles Rieu. Expressive black ground with layered white, red, and yellow elements, including gestural figures, symbols, and script-like markings. Signed script writing is noticed along the edge of the canvas.

Unframed, stretched canvas. Work shows visible wear consistent with handling, including edge wear, surface scuffs, and minor imperfections to the canvas and stretcher. This item is in pre-owned, previously displayed condition with wear and surface markings. Please reference all photos for full details.

Art: 20" x 16" x 1 1/4". Weight: 1.8 lbs

This item is originally from the collection of liquor icon Michel Roux. One of Mr. Roux’s signature spirits at Crillon was absinthe, the anise-flavored spirit known for its popularity among 19th-century artists like van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. It was banned by the United States in 1912 amid concerns that wormwood, one of its ingredients, which contained thujone, caused hallucinations. In 2000, Mr. Roux introduced a legal absinthe, Absente, which used a sister botanical, Southern wormwood, with only trace amounts of thujone.