Jean Paul Riopelle, C.C., G.O.Q., LL.D.

Canadian , 1923-2002

Born: Canada: Quebec, Montreal 1923-10-07
Died: Canada: Quebec, Isle-aux-Grues 2002-03-12
Selected works
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Sorcière
Lithograph
19 x 22.75 in ( sheet )
CAD 2200
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n7
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Lied à Émile Nelligan. Planche 5
Lithograph
22 x 30 in
CAD 950
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n7
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n6
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n5
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n4
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n3
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Autres mouches no 1
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 1/2 x 26 3/4 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Autres mouches no 2
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 1/2 x 26 3/4 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Autres mouches no 3
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 1/2 x 26 3/4 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Autres mouches no 4
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 1/2 x 26 3/4 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Autres mouches no 5
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 1/2 x 26 3/4 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac (portfolio complet nº 1 à 7)
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
please enquire
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
untitled, from the portfolio «Les Mouches à Marier» , n7
Etching
19 1/2 x 26 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
untitled, from the portfolio «Les Mouches à Marier» , n3
Etching
19 1/2 x 26 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
untitled, from the portfolio "Les Mouches à Marier", n1
Etching
19 1/2 x 26 in
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Untitled n3
Etching
19 3/4 x 25 3/4 in (image); 11 3/4 x 15 1/2 in (papier)
CAD 2900
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Où nul ours n’est chassé
Lithograph
18 ½ x 25 ½ in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Caldès
Lithograph on Japan paper
30.3 x 22.4 in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Le Clocher
Lithograph on Japan paper
22.4 x 30.3 in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Clocher caché
Lithograph on Japan paper
30.3 x 22.4 in
CAD 2500
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Qu'a tord son linge
Original lithograph in colours on Arches paper
22 x 29 3/4 in (paper); 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in (image)
CAD 3200
sold artworks
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Le Sablier Planche 1
Lithograph
22 x 25 1/2 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Vu de chez Monet
Lithograph
23 ½ x 20 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n2
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Auprès de mon lac n1
Lithograph on Japan paper
20 ½ x 26 ¾ in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Les saisons de Saint-Cyr-en-Arthies - La Tilleuse
Original lithograph in colours on Arches paper
20 ½ x 27 ¾ in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
De chez Paolo Caldès
Lithograph on Japan paper
30 x 22 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Quien-toi bien
Etching
22 x 29 3/4 in (paper); 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in (image)
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Quien-toi bien
Etching
22 x 29 3/4 in (paper); 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in (image)
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Qu'a tord son linge
Original lithograph in colours on Arches paper
22 x 29 3/4 in (paper); 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in (image)
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
D'où ce que tu sors
Original lithograph in colours on Arches paper
22 x 29 3/4 in (paper); 17 1/4 x 23 1/4 in (image)
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Le Couchant
Lithograph
22 x 25.5 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Affiche avant la lettre No. 142
Lithograph
27.5 x 19.25 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Le Clocher
Lithograph on Japan paper
22.4 x 30.3 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Midi à Vétheuil
Original lithograph in colours on Arches paper
20 x 23 1/2 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Canadian, 1923-2002
Le Homard
Etching on chiffon de Mandeure paper
23 x 29 in
sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Untitled ( from the book “Lied A Emile Nelligan”)
Lithograph
19 1/4 x 25 1/2 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Le Lac
Etching
8 1/2 x 11 in
Sold
Jean-Paul Riopelle
1923-2002
Affiche avant la lettre no. 106
Lithograph
28 x 18 1/4 in
Sold
Biography
Jean Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle began his career at the école polytechnique in 1941, pursuing engineering with some architecture and photography. His childhood enthusiasm for making art became a hobby at this time, and he described himself as a Sunday painter with a constrained, academic style. In 1942 he enrolled at the école des Beaux-Arts in Montreal but shifted his studies to the much less academic approach at the école du Meuble, graduating in 1945. There he studied with Paul-émile Borduas, a teacher who was extremely dedicated to his students and gave them a great deal of freedom. It was under Borduas’s direction that Riopelle made his first abstract painting. Borduas and several of his students, including Riopelle, formed a group that worked, socialized and exhibited together (1942-45). The group became known as the Automatistes for their spontaneous method of painting, which drew on the subconscious as a source. In 1946 Riopelle first travelled to France, where he would return and settle the following year. In 1948 Borduas authored the manifesto Refus global, which was signed by a number of his students, including Riopelle.

Riopelle had his first solo exhibition at the Surrealist meeting place, Galerie La Dragonne in Paris, in 1949. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he met and became friends with artists, writers and gallery owners including Georges Mathieu and Pierre Loeb, who introduced him to André Breton. He also met Jean Arp and Antonin Artaud at Loeb’s gallery.

Riopelle pioneered a style of painting where large quantities of varied coloured paints were thickly applied to the canvas with a trowel for such works as Pavane (1954) and The Wheel II (1956). The coming years brought Riopelle increasing success and immersion in the Parisian cultural scene. He was represented in New York and participated in the biennials of contemporary art in Venice (1954) and Sao Paulo (1955). He spent his evenings in Paris bistros with friends including playwright Samuel Beckett and artist Alberto Giacometti.

In the 1960s, Riopelle renewed his ties to Canada. Exhibitions were held at the National Gallery of Canada (1963), and the Musée du Quebec held a retrospective in 1967. In the early 1970s, he built a home and studio in the Laurentians. From 1974 he divided his time between St. Marguerite in Quebec, and Saint-Cyr-en-Arthies in France. Riopelle participated in his last exhibition in 1996. From 1994 until his death, he maintained homes in both St. Marguerite and Isle-aux-Grues, Quebec.

Studied at
Collections
Exhibitions
Awards
Professional Activities
Publications