Robert Detheux (brussels, 1932-2010). Abstraction. 1986.

Wooden frame, gilded (Schleiper frame), wear from use. Frame dimensions: 105 x 105 cm.
Painting dimensions: 100 x 100 cm. Signed on the back. Provenance: The artist's family.
Belgian artist Robert Detheux (1932-2010) presented us with emblematic works throughout his artistic career. A graduate of the Saint-Luc Institute in Fine Arts, Detheux taught graphic expression in the advertising section at the Academy of Tournai until 1996, while simultaneously pursuing a career as a painter. Throughout his career, Detheux was awarded several times, including the Young Belgian Painting Prize in 1953, 1954 and 1971. In addition to his distinctions, his works are also present in the collection of the Royal Museums of Belgium. In 1976, Detheux captured critical attention with a series of sensual paintings exploring the obsessive theme of the belly and the navel. In 1985, he exhibited a series of dark paintings adorned with light calligraphy at Abras (Brussels). The following year, at the Botanique (Brussels), he created collage paintings steeped in dark humor depicting the Countess of Ségur's model granddaughters. Detheux's pictorial explorations, in which line and the play of textures are omnipresent, clearly reflect his experience as a graphic designer.