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Asta Enchères - Maison de ventes aux enchères Corse-Paris

12 - [SIGNOVERT Jean – FAUTRIER Jean]
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Estimate €200 - €300
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Description
[SIGNOVERT Jean – FAUTRIER Jean] Autograph manuscript by Jean Signovert. A set of two double-sided handwritten sheets (three pages of text preserved, A4 size), written in blue ink on paper, bearing the handwritten heading ‘Sur Fautrier’. An unpublished text devoted to Jean Fautrier, written in the form of a personal portrait blending memories, admiration and reflections on the painter’s personality. From the very first lines, Signovert reflects on the very difficulty of writing about Fautrier: ‘To write about Jean Fautrier, and what to say? What? What do you expect me to say, what do you expect me to tell you?’ The manuscript quickly takes the form of a deeply personal evocation of the artist. Signovert recounts his first encounter with Fautrier, whose personality immediately struck him as extraordinary: ‘I immediately thought of Don Quixote, Doctor Faust, some alchemist or some great conqueror.’ The text piles up images and comparisons in an attempt to capture a character whom the author considers unclassifiable. Fautrier becomes, in turn, Don Quixote, Faust, an alchemist and a conqueror, before being compared to Gérard Philipe, Louis Jouvet or even a flamenco dancer. Signovert emphasises the artist’s intellectual power, regarding him as belonging to ‘another race’, to ‘another world’, living ahead of his time: ‘He was of a different race to ours, from another world, a world a hundred years, a thousand years ahead, greater, more beautiful, more true.’ The text takes on an almost lyrical quality when the author describes the influence Fautrier exerted on those who came into contact with him: ‘I was lucky enough to know Fautrier, and I think I’ve caught the Fautriere.’ This mysterious ‘Fautriere’ becomes, in his writing, a sort of spiritual fever: ‘It itches, it stings, it eats away at you and corrupts you. It burns you, it gnaws at you.’ Further on, Signovert paints one of the most striking portraits of the painter: ‘I have only found that piercing gaze in Picasso.’ Before contrasting the two men: ‘But whilst Picasso has the mobile, attentive eye of an owl, Fautrier had the hard, regal gaze of an eagle.’ The manuscript concludes with a particularly moving description of Fautrier’s profound personality, where behind the irony, sarcasm and strength of character lie anxiety, shyness and a deep kindness: ‘the one who is so kind, the one who hides himself.’ An important, previously unpublished account of Jean Fautrier as seen by one of his close collaborators in the field of printmaking. This text is part literary portrait, part personal memoir. It sheds light on the artist’s personality through the eyes of a fellow practitioner who knew him personally and who here offers an account of rare human depth. The very free style of writing, reminiscent of spoken language, lends the document a particular authenticity and makes it one of the most personal texts currently identified in the Signovert collection. Transcription: “To write about Jean Fautrier, and what to say, what? What do you expect me to say, what do you expect me to tell you? The first time I saw him, I immediately thought of Don Quixote, of Doctor Faust, of some alchemist or great conqueror—oh, a conqueror of nothing and for nothing, just for the sake of glory and panache. Then the inexhaustible flood of words poured from his mouth; he had become a Don Quixote turned fountain, whose water flowed in a small torrent—but after so much muddy water; what clarity, and what a quenching of a long-suppressed thirst. I took an immediate liking to Fautrier and was captivated by him. I sensed straight away that one only had to scratch the surface a little, to look beyond those clothes arranged with nonchalance and rare elegance, and Cézanne’s words suited him well: ‘Fear that someone might get their claws into him’. He was of a different breed to ours, from another world—a world a hundred, a thousand years ahead, greater, more beautiful, more true— he knew it, and gently, gently, in small bursts, he revealed it to us; and if he sensed that you understood him—which, incidentally, was very rare; those who did understand could be counted on the fingers of one hand—then he would reassure you. It was neither serious nor strange; that was simply how it was, and one had to accept it. There was no point in making a big deal of it; besides, it was by no means contagious. Those who were meant to have it did, and for two thousand years very few have had it—he and … those people had the time, time alone will tell, will tell that he and they were right, and that they had both great luck and many setbacks in being born that way without wanting to and without having chosen it. As for me, I was lucky enough to know Fautrier, and I think I’ve caught the Fautrier itch; it itches, it eats away at you and it corrupts you. It burns you, it gnaws at you. It’s worse than the plague, but how I pity those who were unable to catch it and thus miss out on seeing a man of such kindness, sensitivity and extreme love; he was beautiful, like a Jouvet, a Gérard Philippe, a flamenco dancer, always in a trance. His leg taut, ready to spring, and his eye on the lookout. I have only found that piercing gaze in Picasso. But whilst Picasso had the mobile, watchful eye of an owl, Fautrier’s was a hard, regal eagle’s gaze that settled only where he wished, capable of steely stillness and as swift as the sharpest, most expert blade. The man was everything: a whole world, the whole world. He held within him all the centuries. He could have lived in any era; he belonged everywhere, and if he was here at this very moment, it was simply because that was how it was, and only how it was. Sarcastic, mocking, with a wry smile, Voltairian and, for that very reason, kind, searching everywhere within you for the flaw he could latch onto so as to help you – and help himself – for he was also, of course, the anxious and the shy one, the one who is so good, the one who hides.” Source: Jean SIGNOVERT’s studio archive.
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About the sale The Jean SIGNOVERT (1919–1981) Studio Collection: his prints, paintings, sculptures and friends
Auction location
Auction time 10/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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