
Lithographie no.5.
1957
Lithographie no. 5 from 1957 presents Pierre Soulages at a pivotal moment in his engagement with printmaking, where the raw energy of his gestural mark-making translates with remarkable authority into the lithographic medium. Executed in colour on BFK Rives wove paper, the sheet retains its full margins and bears the distinctive watermark of that prestigious support, measuring 65.5 by 50.3 centimetres around an image of 57.3 by 42.5 centimetres. The composition demonstrates Soulages's characteristic command of tonal weight and spatial tension, with broad, deliberate forms that anchor the picture plane while preserving an almost architectural sense of structure beneath apparent spontaneity. Published by the legendary Galerie Berggruen in Paris and printed by Pons, also in Paris, this work carries an impeccable provenance rooted in the city's postwar avant-garde milieu. Berggruen's imprint is itself a mark of distinction, as the gallery championed some of the most significant European and international artists of the twentieth century. The collaboration speaks to the seriousness with which Soulages approached the medium, treating it not as a reproductive exercise but as an independent creative act. The work is catalogued as number 48 in the Encrevé-Miessner catalogue raisonné, confirming its scholarly documentation within the artist's printed oeuvre. Signed in pencil at the lower right, this lithograph represents a rare opportunity to acquire a fully authenticated, early multiple from one of France's most celebrated postwar painters. Soulages, whose mature exploration of what he termed "Outrenoir" would later bring international renown, is already visible here as a painter of exceptional conviction, translating the gestural vocabulary of his canvases into a medium that rewards sustained looking. For collectors focused on postwar European abstraction, this signed and documented impression offers both aesthetic weight and lasting art historical relevance.
- Medium
- Colour lithograph
- Signed
- Yes
- Spotted At
- Gallery · Koller Auctions
More by Pierre Soulages
Collectors of Pierre Soulages
Also spotted by

Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion