Sans titre is a sophisticated oil on canvas that exemplifies the dynamic lyricism and expressive gestures characteristic of Jean Paul Riopelle’s style from the mid to late 1950s. This period marks a significant evolution from his dense, mosaic-like paintings of the early 1950s and prefigures the further experimentation with his artistic practices and visual language that he would explore in the 1960s.

In Sans titre, crisp white touches are punctuated by rich earthy browns and cool deep blues. White emerges as a defining colour in Riopelle’s work beginning in 1954, infusing his compositions with light, amplitude and a greater sense of space. During this same period, Riopelle expanded his visual vocabulary beyond the narrow, tesserae-like strokes characteristic of his mosaic phase. We begin to see broad swathes of colour where he has dragged his palette knife across large areas of the canvas—conical or fan-shaped arrangements formed by successive knife strokes, and elongated, almost calligraphic lines.

The fan-shaped motif can be found in Sans titre in the lower left corner, in the brown and terra cotta pigments, and near the right edge, in the white and grey paint. This rare motif can be found in only a few of the artist’s other works, such at Tracks (1956, collection of the Art Gallery of Hamilton), Les Géants (1956, private collection), Les Papillons (1956, private collection) and Évent (1957, private collection). In these latter two works, the fantail motif is evocative, alluding directly to the paintings’ titles: butterfly wings for Les Papillons and a fan for Évent (the French word for fan is éventail). In the lower left quadrant of Sans titre, expressive, calligraphic black lines appear—gestural marks that would become increasingly prominent in Riopelle’s work of the early 1960s.

The provenance of Sans titre is noteworthy: it belonged to Françoise Riopelle, wife of Jean Paul, who sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Forster upon her return from France. It was reproduced in the article “Canadian Art for Your Home” in the September 1959 edition of Canadian Home and Gardens, which featured the Forsters’ collection in their home. From the article: “Jean Paul Riopelle’s Composition [Sans titre], reproduced below, is brilliantly coloured, with thick paint applied in characteristic Riopelle fashion, with vigorous strokes of his palette knife. The Forsters have it centered over the dining table, with the smaller painting, Un troupeau spectral, placed to one side to balance it” and “The two Riopelle paintings hang side by side on a wall that’s paneled with wide boards taken from an 80-year-old barn. Mr. Forster bleached and stained the board and left them in their natural, rough time-worn state. This weathered wall adds its own texture and interest to the room while at the same time making a neutral background for Riopelle’s vivid work.”

Dating from a crucial period in Riopelle’s artistic career, Sans titre is a major transitional work. With a renewed use of the colour white, and displaying a great variety of touches and gestures, Sans titre retains elements from the early 1950s, such as the narrow mosaic touches, while heralding Riopelle’s 1960s practice—expansive, liberated and even more expressive. Sans titre is a remarkable celebration of artistic freedom and the pure joy of painting.