Charles FILIGER (Than, 1863- Plougastel, 1928) Front: Chromatic notation Back: Chromatic notation Watercolour gouache over pencil lines, recto verso Small annotations in the margin on the verso Chromatic notation, watercolour gouache on pencil strokes, double-sided, by C. Filiger 9.65 x 10.43 in. 24.5 x 26.5 cm Provenance: Antoine de La Rochefoucauld Collection (1862 - 1960) ; Collection of the painter Émile Bernard (1868 - 1941); Mr & Mrs Altarriba Collection; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Il Sacro e il profano nell'Arte dei Simbolisti, Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, June - August 1969, cat. no. 135: "Notazione Cromatica", reproduced p. 127 Charles Filiger, Strasbourg, l'Ancienne Boucherie - Musée Historique, 16 June - 2 September 1990, cat. nos. 67 and 70 p. 218: "Figure Solaire No. 3 / Notations Chromatiques (double face)", reproduced p. 212 L'aventure de Pont-Aven et Gauguin, Paris, Musée du Luxembourg, 2 April - 22 June 2003; Quimper, Musée des Beaux-arts, 12 July - 30 September 2003, cat. no. 126: "Notation Chromatique", reproduced p. 339 Bibliography: Jacob, Mira, Filiger l'Inconnu, Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg, 1990, cat. no. 132: "Figure Solaire No. 3 / Notations Chromatiques (double face)", reproduced p. 98 This magnificent double-sided watercolour by Charles Filiger is one of the artist's rare "Notations chromatiques", which have apparently not yet revealed all their mystery. It was the poet André Breton, a fervent admirer of the artist, who came up with this name, as he explained in the list of works in the collection he drew up: "the following compositions should be designated as such, in accordance with an inscription in Filiger's hand on the back of one of them<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a>". This name and adjective "Notation chromatique" in fact recur several times in the annotations around this type of drawing, although it cannot be said that these are their titles, but they have now been accepted by art historians. These watercolours, which resemble kaleidoscopic effects centred around a half-human, half-animal head, somewhere between mandalas and tools for exploring consciousness, are difficult to understand except through the annotations that accompany them. Filiger uses the name "opus" and gives numbers as if it were a series. The same expressions, associated with the work in progress, recur: to unify further, to take up again, to revise briefly, to push further, etc. The same words are used again and again: general harmony, chromatic progression, methodical, rational, logical, method, chromatic unity, simplification, unity, uniformity, unitary, schematic, etc. Some words are underlined, others are erased and reused. Thought, writing and drawing cannot be dissociated. Sometimes the painter talks to himself, explaining his work, pointing out corrections to be made and encouraging himself. These annotations reinforce the enigmatic character of these skilfully geometrised and coloured "images" in a rigorously established and harmonious order. Their relentless pursuit of formal perfection reflects Charles Filiger's uncompromising aesthetic obsession. <a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Quimper, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Charles Filiger collection. Charles FILIGER (Than, 1863- Plougastel, 1928) 24.5 x 26.5 cm This magnificent recto-verso watercolour by Charles Filiger is one of the artist's rare "Notations chromatiques", which have apparently not yet revealed all their mystery. It was the poet André Breton, a fervent admirer of the artist, who came up with this name, as he explained in the list of works in the collection he drew up: "the following compositions should be designated as such, in accordance with an inscription in Filiger's hand on the back of one of them<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a>". This name and adjective "Notation chromatique" in fact recur several times in the annotations around this type of drawing, although it cannot be said that these are their titles, but they have now been accepted by art historians. These watercolours, which resemble kaleidoscopic effects centred around a half-human, half-animal head, somewhere between mandalas and tools for exploring consciousness, are difficult to understand except through the annotations that accompany them. Filiger uses the name "opus" and gives numbers as if it were a series. The same expressions, associated with the work in progress, recur: to unify further, to take up again, to revise briefly, to push further, etc. The same words are used again: general harmony, chromatic progression, methodical, rational, logical, method, chromatic unity, simplification, unity, uniformity, unitary, schematic, etc. Some words are underlined, others are erased and reused. Thought, writing and drawing cannot be dissociated. Sometimes the painter talks to himself, explaining his work, pointing out corrections to be made and encouraging himself. These annotations reinforce the enigmatic character of these skilfully geometrised and coloured "images" in a rigorously established and harmonious order. Their relentless pursuit of formal perfection reflects Charles Filiger's uncompromising aesthetic obsession. <a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Quimper, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Charles Filiger collection.