"Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) was one of the most important Canadian artists of the twentieth century, yet he is relatively unknown in the U.S. He began his career in Montreal in the 1940s, where he played a role in the influential Automatist movement, and established his reputation in the burgeoning art scene of postwar Paris, where his circle included Andre Breton, Samuel Beckett, and Sam Francis. During his career, Riopelle produced over six thousand works, including more than two thousand paintings. This volume, the second in the Artist's Materials series, grew out of a research project of the Canadian Conservation Institute. Initial chapters present an overview of Riopelle's life and situate his work within the context of twentieth-century art. Subsequent chapters address Riopelle's materials and techniques, focusing on his oil paintings and mixed media works, and on conservation issues. The preface is by Yseult Riopelle, the artist's eldest daughter and editor of his catalogue raisonne. This first book-length study of the artist in English will interest curators, conservators, conservation scientists, and general readers"--
Machine generated contents note: 1. A Life in Painting -- Artistic Beginnings -- Rise to Prominence -- The Artist and His Circle -- The Exploration of Matter -- Painting Places -- 2. Modernist Migrant / Stephane Aquin -- Montreal, the Automatist Moment -- The Parisian Years -- American Reviews -- A World of His Own -- 3. Master of Oil Paint -- Oil Painting Supports -- Oil Painting Grounds -- Oil Paint -- Varnish -- 4. Exploration of Mixed Media -- Supports and Grounds -- Paint -- 5. The Painted Oeuvre: Observations on Condition and Conservation -- Common Conservation Issues Observed in Oil Paintings -- Conservation Issues Observed in Mixed-Media Paintings -- Aesthetic Characteristics of the Oil Paintings -- Conclusion -- Appendix I Analytical Methods -- Appendix II Analysis of Riopelle's Oil Painting Medium -- The Distribution of Drying Oil Types in Riopelle's Oil Paints: P/S Ratio -- The Drying and Aging of Riopelle's Oil Paints.