Le peintre et le modèle

1973

Author: Alain Jouffroy (1928-) 
Artist: Gérard Fromanger (1939-)
Published: Brussels, Galerie Espace 2000, Éditions Sida, 1973

Jouffroy writes all his work as if it were a ship's log on board a rudderless vessel without a captain or an admiral to guide it. Those are his own words, and yet there is an artist controlling the events in Le peintre et le modèle: Gérard Fromanger. The book is a large-sized folder with loose screen prints and sheets of text. Alain Jouffroy wrote a commentary for each image on how the screen prints were created.

The illustrations in this book are as large as political posters: 60 by 80 centimetres. Gérard Fromanger's work is typical of the 1970s, with its combination of hyperrealism and social criticism. He was one of the first representatives of the Figuration narrative. This French, policitally charged movement was a variation of Pop Art, which first arose in the 1960s and which resisted abstract, uninvolved art. The subject of Fromanger's prints was consumer society, which he considers a prison. In every print, the silhouette of the painter's model is set against a colourful shop window.

But who is the model? On the print 'Vert Véronèse' the silhouette is that of the painter himself, and the figures on the right are those of author Jouffroy (seen from behind) and his Adriana, who smiles complicitly at the viewer. With this, Fromanger criticises his own criticism, while posing as his own model. It's a self-portrait with friends, full of self-mockery. Another screen print, 'Violet d'Égypte', shows the Galeries Lafayette with crowds of shoppers, but, significantly, without any traffic: no cars, buses or trucks. Jouffroy's commentary here notes that Fromanger views the city as a self-destructive form of society: the city takes on the form of a grotesque funeral.

Bibliographical description:

Description:	Le peintre et le modèle / [sérigraphies de] Gérard Fromanger ; [introd. et textes de] Alain Jouffroy. - Bruxelles : Galerie Espace 2000 : Editions SIDA, [1973]. - [25] p. : ill. ; 62×81 cm
Printer:	Michel Caza (Franconville, Val-d'Oise) (screen prints) Jarach-La Ruche (Paris) (text)
Edition:	170 copies
This copie:	Number 100 of 170
Typeface:	Garamond
Bookbinder:	Anderlecht (box)
Note:	Signed by author and artist
	All 11 screen prints are numbered and signed by the artist
Bibliography:	Bénézit 5-739
Shelf-mark:	Koopm E 48

References:

• Alain Jouffroy, Le monde est un tableau. Nîmes, Chambon, 1998  
• Alain Joufferoy, Le roman vécu. Paris, Laffont, 1978