Auguste Herbin was born in 1882 and died in 1960. He is one of the precursors of Abstract art. Firstly an Impressionist artist, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1906. Between 1940 and 1950, he created what he called his 'plastic alphabet': 26 colours, each one associated with geometric shapes, creating a new speech based on common language. He painted his works starting from a word that he translated into this new alphabet. Among the first artists to develop a musical synesthesia as Kandinsky, Herbin associated colours with musical sounds, composing his paintings like a symphony.
Read MoreHis works follow a structured and an accurate aesthetic, without being fixed because they bring out in the public a subtle mix of senses.
Herbin became friends with Picasso, Braque and Juan Gris in 1909 and developed a Cubist style. In 1912, he exhibited at the Section d'Or and in 1917, he signed a contract with Léonce Rosenberg for his Galerie de L'Effort Moderne. In 1931, he founded with Georges Vantongerloo, the Abstraction-Creation group. His painting became more and more geometric and colourful. Suffering from hemiplegia, Herbin learnt to paint with his left hand. His series of original tapestries is now exhibited in the world's major capitals and Herbin is internationally renowned.
Text courtesy Helene Bailly Gallery.
