The project examines condition problems in modern paintings made by artists who were associated with either the Cobra movement or exhibitions such as "Art Autre". Through examination of how soft and dripping paint manifests in a select group of paintings the project presents new knowledge and challenges earlier research on Asger Jorn and Karel Appel.

The aim of the project was to improve the understanding of condition problems in modern paintings containing soft and dripping paint and to apprehend the reasons why these occur. The examination focused on 23 paintings, from the period 1946-1972, by Asger Jorn, Karel Appel and four other artists at one time associated with either the Cobra movement or exhibitions such as Art Autre.

In this process, conceived ideas about the making of these modern paintings and the relation with the condition problems are challenged:

i) The conceived idea of so-called good and bad materials.

ii) The lack of schooling and understanding of the materials and their application.

iii) The economically difficult conditions that directly affected the quality and durability of the works the artists produced.

Show the image "Details from treatments of a Asger Jorn painting before and after treatment. Asger Jorn, "C’est grace à nous", 1957 " in fullscreen

The results are presented in the thesis «French Connections: Soft and Dripping paint in Cobra and Art Autre (1949-1972)». A central find from the research is that the problem of soft and dripping paint occur in a period when the artists worked in Paris under relatively affluent financial circumstances, and utilized for the most part regular artist paint from French brands such as Lefranc, Lefranc-Bourgeois, Lefevbre-Foinet and Adam Montparnasse.

Show the image "Detail of fibers embedded in the paint surface. Karel Appel, "Libellules blessées", 1961 " in fullscreen

These and other new insights into the artists’ practices urges a re-interpretation or re-evaluation of earlier research in particular on Asger Jorn and Karel Appel.

The thesis French connections can be downloaded here