L'Arc Obscure des heures (The Dark Arc of Hours) (F. 105-112 & 114)
Roberto Matta's ambitious portfolio of nine etching and aquatints inspired by Heraclite's philosophical concepts, presented in a blue linen clamshell portfolio. The work combines classical printmaking techniques with surrealist imagery and poetic French text.
- Medium
- The set of nine etching and aquatints in colors, on Japan Gekko Hodomura paper, with full margins, with title page and colophon, text in French by Héraclite, all loose (as issued), all contained in the original blue linen-covered clamshell portfolio.
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
MODERNISM: Editions & Works on Paper
October 21, 2025
Lot 19
More by Roberto Matta
Spotted works by Roberto Matta
Artists in conversation
André Masson
French · b. 1896
Masson created surrealist etchings and aquatints that fused automatic drawing with philosophical and mythological themes, closely mirroring Matta's combination of printmaking technique and surrealist imagery in portfolio form.
Max Ernst
German · b. 1891
Ernst produced elaborate surrealist print portfolios that interweaved poetic text with visionary imagery, sharing Matta's approach of uniting philosophical literary sources with experimental intaglio printmaking techniques.
Yves Tanguy
French · b. 1900
Tanguy's work inhabits the same surrealist visual language as this portfolio, building dreamlike cosmological spaces that resonate with Matta's Heraclitean themes of flux, obscurity, and metaphysical transformation rendered through layered tonal techniques.
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