Sold for: $73,250

PROVENANCE
Galerie Lelong, Paris
Private Collection, Montreal
Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, June 17, 2009, lot 48
Acquired from the above by an Important Private Collection, Montreal

LITERATURE
Les Riopelle de Riopelle, Domaine Cataraqui, 1998, another cast reproduced page 48
Yseult Riopelle and Tanguy Riopelle, Jean Paul Riopelle Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 5, 1972 - 1979, 2020, reproduced page 527, catalogue #1973.07SC.1973

EXHIBITED
Galerie Tardif-Rouleau, Quebec City, Riopelle, 1990, another cast
Domaine Cataraqui, Quebec City, Les Riopelle de Riopelle, 1998, another cast, catalogue #EA1

One of Jean Paul Riopelle’s earliest surviving canvases of an owl, entitled Hibou premier and painted in 1939 to 1940, set the stage for what would become one of the most important and enduring subjects of his work. Whether incorporated in an abstract or figurative form, the owl became a symbol synonymous with Riopelle and was a reflection of the way in which he developed his work. Riopelle’s gaze was often transfixed by the realm of another world, a realm that transcended the boundaries of time and space. This is similar to the gaze of an owl, a prophetic bird whose eyes can see the invisible. It was from this mysterious plane that Riopelle created his work, part of a sculptural series of owls first produced from 1969 to 1970. The bronze Hibou becomes the manifestation of his connection with the bird and, through its tactility and texture, the melding of his vision as a painter with that of a sculptor.

This bronze was cast by the Fonderia Bonvicini in Verona, Italy. Another cast is in the collection of the Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Rivière-du-Loup, QC.

Included with this lot is a spinning base.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars