Mixed media abstract painting on canvas by Gilles Rieu, dated 2004 and referencing “St Augustine” on verso. Dynamic composition featuring layered black, gold, white, and red tones with heavy impasto, gestural script, and abstract figural elements. Central diagonal band with textured overlays and expressive markings throughout. Signed by the artist on the reverse with a small sketch and personal message to Michel Roux.
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: 1.6 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.
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