EXCELSIOR SHOW

Since the majority of the Black and White paintings were not indexed or catalogued in available art publications, we had to use other means and resources to have access to some of the original artwork. Thanks to the assistance of Mrs. Aurele de La Croix, we were able to enter in touch with art collectors who had in their collections, some of Maitre de La Croix’s original Black and White paintings. The task was painful because many of them were living abroad and in far distant countries and cities such as Cape Town, Lima, Buenos Aires, Omsk, Kiev, Odessa, Tblisi, etc.

Many of the Black and White artwork you see on these pages were presumed to be lost. In many cases, we did not know they have ever existed because no records on a complete inventory of Maitre de La Croix’s art was made. Besides, this most unique series and compositions were not considered by the artist as a paramount part of his genre, therefore, no importance was given to its value by the artist himself. We were fortunate to locate and retrieve 35% of the total Black and White artwork and the remaining 65% is considered now as lost forever. The original series consisted of approximately 300 original drawings, paintings and compositions.

In the seventies and a little bit earlier, probably around the years 1962 to 1965, Black and White artwork was in a great demand, especially in Paris, Rome and New York. Maitre de La Croix began his “Noir et Blanc” series around 1978. Of course, he came late to the scene but instantly his work attracted the attention and interest of collectors, connoisseurs and art lovers worldwide. His work was quite different from the work of leading Black and White “composers” and artists in the United States because his Black and White compositions were oil paintings on linen conceived as three dimensional in composition and structure and appeared as a photographic platform rather than a traditional oil, black pencil, charcoal or similar medium widely used by eminent black and white artists. When you look at Maitre de La Croix’s Black and White paintings, you begin to wonder if those paintings are made in oil or are photos or even negative of photos sets. This is not the case when you look at the superb black and white paintings of other great artists such as Gotthard Graubner, Peter Roehr, Cy Twombly, Bruce Nauman, Al Held and Roy Lichtenstein, simply because it is easy to identify the medium they have used. You will suddenly recognize that they are drawings, compositions, illustrations, figurations, in short, paintings, not photographic work. Now with Maitre de La Croix’s black and white work, the situation is quite different. The possibility that those paintings are photos and not real oil paintings on linen will most certainly entertain your mind. They are so perfect, dominant, clean, well balanced and multi-dimensional in the beauty, serenity and clarity of colors tones and shades…so clear to a point where it becomes so difficult to differentiate between brush work and camera work. This is why it is so valuable to find and preserve those masterpieces. Look at them one more time and try to establish a thin line between strokes of brushes and visualization of an art photography process, it is quite impossible! This is what makes the genius of Maitre de La Croix unparallel in the contemporary abstract art world.

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The following page contains the last section on this magnificent work in black and white. We hope that soon we will be able to retrieve more original black and white artwork of Maitre de La Croix and consequently post it on this site. We are constantly searching for old and recent “ouvrages” by the Master of Black and White. It would be a great help to us if you join our efforts and search as an editor or a contributor.