Jean-Paul RIOPELLE (1923-2002). Composition. Oil on canvas. 1950's. Height : 27 cm. 27 cm - Width : 35 cm Provenance : Offered by the artist to Mrs Suzanne Loiseau, his employee in Paris in the 1950's then by descent. The authenticity of the work has been confirmed by Mrs Yseult Riopelle. A certificate will be given to the buyer and the work will be added to the artist's online catalogue raisonné. Initially a student of Henri Bisson, Jean-Paul Riopelle joined the École du meuble de Montréal in the 1940s. It was at this time that he joined the Automatistes group, which was close to the Surrealists and their psychoanalytical influences. He arrived in Paris in 1947 and through the intermediary of the dealer Pierre Loeb met André Breton and the critic Georges Duthuit. After a period in Quebec, Riopelle returned to Paris and participated in the Véhémences Confrontées exhibition organized by Georges Mathieu in 1951. This event marked the beginning of the painter's "Mosaic" period, which takes its name from the use of the spatula and the juxtaposition of thick touches of paint similar to coloured tesserae. His technique, with its impasto, tactile and spontaneous colours, brought him to the attention of international art critics and made him one of the most recognized Quebec artists in the world.