Max Papart

Max Papart (1911 – 1994) was born in Marseilles, France in 1911. Papart began his career as a landscape painter. His work evolved into abstraction, and he gained a reputation as the heir to classic cubism. Through the years he has developed spiritual affinities with other styles and schools. Elements of Etruscan, archaic European, African, and pre-Columbian art have influenced his work, leading to his present semi-figurative style. In Papart’s art, composition goes hand in hand with color, each strengthening the other. He feels that “color is intuitive.” His etchings are noted for contrast in surface textures, achieved with aquatint for a soft, mottled appearance and with carborundum, a technique that results in deep veining reminiscent of stone.