MARIA HELENA VIEIRA DA SILVA (1908-1992) Lot n° 50

MARIA HELENA VIEIRA DA SILVA (1908-1992) Tempest, 1957 Oil on canvas Signed and dated '57' lower right Oil on canvas; signed and dated '57' lower right 46 x 55 CM - 18 1/8 x 21 5/8 in. PROVENANCE Galerie Pierre, Paris Private collection, France BIBLIOGRAPHY Vieira da Silva, Catalogue Raisonné, Guy Weelen and Jean-François Jaeger, Éditions Skira, Geneva, 1994, described and reproduced under n° 1513 p. 301 Tempest is a fine example of Vieira da Silva's research into the representation of space, between architectural construction and abstraction. This painting was produced in 1957, just one year before the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover held its first retrospective exhibition, which was subsequently shown at the Kunstverein in Bremen and the Kunst- und Museumsverein in Wuppertal, and before it received a mention in the Guggenheim Museum's annual prize. Until the 1950s, Vieira used perspective to define interiors, but from the beginning of that decade he also used it to describe outdoor spaces. With a limited palette and seemingly cold colors, the gradations of blue and the range of grays give the painting its vibrancy and density as much as they give the viewer a sense of movement. A network of dark lines, some of which extend laterally, and the multiplication of vanishing points open up the field of vision. Seemingly undisciplined, as the title suggests, the composition is not however detached from any structural constraint. Michel Seuphor had very early formulated: "The beauty of the work is precisely this channeled power, this explosion seen in slow motion in a way. A severe discipline, which hides the light game, the apparent improvisation of the lines and the colors, decides of the least stroke of brush which is never exceeded by the temperament. Or rather, this temperament, in Vieira da Silva, is temperance, order, orchestration. What is surprising is that this rule, this art so firmly held in check, allows at the same time such an intense, mediumistic expression of the inner world. Rigor and freedom make here an exalting marriage. Mondrian's art was pure style, Van Gogh's pure cry. With Vieira da Silva, style and cry are simultaneous in each painting, closely entwined in each moment of painting" (in Introduction, Vieira da Silva, Paris, cat. exp. Galerie Pierre, 1949). Tempête is a wonderful example of Vieira da Silva's investigation into the representation of space, between architectural construction and abstraction. This painting was executed in 1957, just a year before the Kestner-Gesellschaft of Hanover held her first retrospective exhibition, later presented at the Kunstverein in Bremen and at the Kunst- und Museumsverein from Wuppertal, and that she was mentioned for the Guggenheim International Award. Until the 1950s, Vieira used perspective to define interiors. From the beginning of this decade, it also served her to qualify exterior spaces. With a limited palette and the seemingly cool colors, the different shades of blue and the variation of greys give the painting its vibrant and dense aspect, as well as a feeling of movement for the viewer. A network of dark lines, some of which extend laterally, and vanishing points that multiply lead to a widening of the visual field. Of undisciplined appearance, just as the title suggests, the composition is nonetheless imbued with structural constraint. Very early on, Michel Seuphor formulated : "The beauty of the work is precisely this channeled power, this burst seen in a sort of slow motion. A severe discipline, hidden by the light play, the apparent improvisation of lines and colors, determines the slightest brush stroke which is never exceeded by temperament. Or rather, this temperament, in Vieira da Silva's work, is temperance, order, orchestration. What is surprising is that this rule, this art so firmly reined, allows at the same time such an intense, mediumistic expression of the inner world. Rigor and freedom make an exhilarating marriage here. The art of a Mondrian was pure style, that of Van Gogh pure cry. With Vieira da Silva, style and cry are simultaneous in each painting, tightly entangled in every moment of painting" (quoted in Vieira da Silva, Introduction, exh. cat. Galerie Pierre, Paris, 1949).