Le jardin merveilleux
(Wonderful garden)

Le jardin merveilleux

1974, oil painting on canvas, 100 x 73 cm
Coll. Degroof-Petercam Bank, Brussels
N° inv. 1294

It is interesting and surprising to note that Bertrand’s drawings are not based on his sketches but rather on the watercolours produced from these sketches. However, the oil paintings on the same theme are generally based on drawings and rarely on watercolours.
The sketch n°17, which is part of a series on the Paris subway produced in 1964, was the starting point for a watercolour entitled Interdit République in addition to one pen and ink drawing. This watercolour is a clever vertical composition in bronze tones. Eight years later, the large oil painting entitled Le jardin merveilleux reproduced the formal elements shown in the watercolour but Bertrand however managed to create a different atmosphere for that painting: he opposed the warm colours of the watercolour to very cold tones in which green colours predominate.
It is indeed very typical of Bertrand’s work to develop in an organic manner, to explore veins that were already exploited and, even after years, to find some recurrence in the themes. Thus, one work produced with one technique gives rise to another one using a new technique. This demonstrates Bertrand’s desire to go deeper into his themes of inspiration: he felt the need to explore further and to decant the object of his interest in order to reach the very essence, to strive for perfection and to eventually achieve universality. This is why, from the sketch to the painting, looking for the right technical and artisanal approach which was so important to him, the artist actually undertakes a spiritual journey.

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