Naissance No. 1

1958

Not on view

In 1946, following his establishment with other artists of the influential group Abstraction-Création, an association that fostered abstraction in the arts, Auguste Herbin co-founded the Paris-based Salon des Réalités Nouvelles as its successor. Herbin developed a dynamic vocabulary of abstract forms and solid colors, promoted in his 1949 text L’art non-figuratif, non-objectif (Non-Figurative, Non-Objective Art), in which he addressed his theory of color as well as the complex interface of writing, music, and the visual arts. He called this arrangement of triangles, circles, and rectangles in bright colors an alphabet plastique (plastic alphabet). After 1953, Herbin became paralyzed on the right side and had to paint with his left hand. Naissance No. 1 is one of his last paintings and represents the culmination of his signature style.

Artwork Details

Title: Naissance No. 1
Artist: Auguste Herbin (French, Quiévy 1882–1960 Paris)
Date: 1958
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 57 1/2 × 44 3/4 in. (146.1 × 113.7 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of the Maria and Conrad Janis Estate, 2024
Object Number: 2024.88.9
Rights and Reproduction: © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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