I arrived at the Musée du Luxembourg in a mildly agitated state, having hurried through the late afternoon streets of Paris’ 6th arrondissement to ensure I had enough time to take in the exhibition before the museum closed. That lingering sense of urgency may well have coloured my initial impression of the first two galleries in the "Pierre Soulages: Works on Paper" exhibition, which felt somewhat inaccessible to me at first encounter; I was too keyed up to meet their subtleties with any real openness. Yet as I progressed deeper into the show, the contemplative, almost zen-like serenity of Soulages’s later works gradually exerted its influence, tempering my restlessness and allowing me to settle into a more receptive frame of mind. What had begun as a rushed obligation transformed into an unexpectedly meditative experience, as Soulages' mature compositions, with their nuanced interplay of density and light, steadily dissolved my tension and recalibrated my capacity for attention.
Pierre Soulages' works on paper, created from the mid-1940s onwards using unconventional materials like walnut stain, India ink, charcoal, and gouache, remained largely hidden from public view until recently. Despite his renown, the focus on his oil paintings and his "outrenoir" works meant that only a handful of works on paper are regularly exhibited. The exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg therefore marks a significant shift, dedicating its entire focus to this overlooked aspect of his practice while including some thirty works that are here exhibited for the first time.
The so-called walnut stain drawings from 1946 to the early 1950s represent Soulages' earliest experiments with materials outside traditional art conventions. Walnut stain, typically used by cabinetmakers, is a brown liquid made from ground nuts diluted in hot water. Soulages applied this material with wide brushes on modestly sized drawing paper, creating abstract compositions of intersecting lines that varied in width and density.
The exhibition reveals the experimental and serial nature of Soulages' approach during this period. His compositions varied dramatically: some featured numerous intersecting strokes while others contained only one or two marks. He worked with white paper or brown-soaked surfaces, sometimes removing wet stain to create lines of light. Once he mastered walnut stain's possibilities, he expanded his experiments to include charcoal, pencil, and various inks, both separately and in combination. This exploratory work, which had no clear precedent in interwar abstract art or Asian calligraphy, initially puzzled viewers but ultimately propelled Soulages to prominence.
Though Soulages transitioned to oil on canvas in the 1950s to access larger formats, he periodically returned to paper throughout his career. His later paper works from the 2000s show continued experimentation, using ink in layered rectangular surfaces rather than linear traces, and creating compositions with black gouache patches overlaid with pencil lines. These late explorations demonstrate that even as an octogenarian, Soulages remained committed to discovering new artistic possibilities through his chosen medium.
I’m the first to admit that this kind of work isn’t for everyone. But if you give it some time it might grow on you. I prefer the work from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, in which the lines are orthogonal and the black more prominent. I ended up buying the carnet d’expo and one of the three reproductions on sale. I now regret not buying all three. I may have to hurry back to the Musée du Luxembourg before they sell out.
Soulages, une autre lumière. Peintures sur papier is at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris until 11 January 2026.