Jean Capdeville (1917–2011) *laceration* 1970

Jean Capdeville (1917–2011) – Siffle siffle, circa 1970–1972. Rare composition featuring torn paper

Jean Capdeville (1917–2011)
Siffle siffle, circa 1970–1972
Mixed media, paper-on-paper laceration and collage
Dimensions: 63 x 83 cm
Signed lower right
Presented in a black wooden frame

Provenance: the artist’s estate.
The work is sold with a certificate from the Jean Capdeville Committee.

An extremely rare piece in Jean Capdeville’s oeuvre. Compositions combining tearing, collage, and writing from the very early 1970s are exceptionally rare on the market, and this piece offers a particularly accomplished example.

The paper is torn, crumpled, and then re-glued: in the center of the sheet, a torn strip of translucent paper covers a wide black strip applied with a bold stroke, revealing through the paper a dark shape with outstretched wings, somewhere between a bird and a butterfly. A fine white line runs above it, punctuated by a bright red stroke that draws the eye. This manipulation of the material—involving tears, layers, and rework—is characteristic of the explorations undertaken by Catalan artists of this generation, for whom paper is not merely a medium but a living material, to be wounded and reconstructed.

Another distinctive feature of the work is the integration of writing. At the top and bottom of the composition, sweeping, cursive script repeats “whistle, whistle… whistle again.” The word becomes a motif, but also a sound: it lends the whole work a musical and profoundly oral dimension, like a bird’s song or a refrain that extends beyond the page. This introduction of spoken language into painting is rare in Capdeville’s work and lends the piece a very special poetry.

Between the opacity of black, the fragility of the torn paper, and the lightness of the handwriting, Siffle siffle brings together in a single composition everything that makes the artist’s work so powerful: gesture, material, and sign. A beautiful and rare work, both graphic and poetic, that appeals equally to collectors of postwar abstraction and to connoisseurs of unique artworks.

We have other works by the artist, from different periods and in various formats, on both paper and canvas. Please feel free to contact us for any inquiries or to explore the entire collection.