Jean Hirtzel

1972 - 1974

1972 marks a change in Jean Hirtzel’s pictorial work. A long journey brings him across Brazil, from the East Coast to Mato Grosso and then to Amazonia. His experiences in this immense country produce a shock effect that puts into question the spatial and coloristic conception of his work. From then on, he works on recording space : forests, rivers, aerial views and Amerindian encampments.

These new preoccupations lead him to lighten his palette. He uses earth and sand collages on his canvases. In the composition, the line of the horizon is often the only spatial point of reference. Human figures appear only in the form of evocations.

In addition to space and light, he discovers the effervescence of the coastal cities and of the pioneer fronts of the heartland. His sojourns with the Amerindian communities confirm his passion for their culture.