Dubuffet and Kopac: An Obsession with Material


01/14/2022

An oil painting by the master of Outsider art speaks of his friendship with the Croatian painter, whose work is poised for rediscovery



by Anne Doridou-Heim

Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), "Petit paysage avec personnages," 1949, oil on Isorel, signed, dated and dedicated to Slavko Kopac, 50 x 61 cm/19.7 x 24 in. Result: €747,040
This painting, Petit paysage avec personnages (Small Landscape with Figures), sheds an interesting light on the friendship between Jean Dubuffet  and Slavko Kopac (1913-1995). While the former's art is well-known and studied, Kopac's is still awaiting rediscovery. This will happen relatively soon, with the upcoming retrospectives in Croatia's capital (2023) and at the Centre Pompidou in Paris (2024) and, this January, the Gallimard publication in France of an in-depth monograph by Fabrice Flahutez, Pauline Goutain and Roberta Trapani, Slavko KopacOmbres et matières (Slavko KopacShadows and Materials). Click here to read more.