Le grand défroissement
€1,320.00
An exemplary *livre d’artiste* by Jean Messagier, issued by Éditions Fata Morgana in Montpellier on 14 June 1989, a large quarto of 28 pages. Each copy is hand-enriched by the artist with painted interventions, turning support and pigment into a single body. The publisher’s note speaks of seven interventions, while some descriptions count five—an instructive variance that underscores copy-to-copy individuality. The title is calligraphed by Messagier himself, highlighting the performative nature of the gesture. Printed on Arches and housed in a slipcase, the book protects an intimate encounter with the page. This deluxe tirage of thirty, numbered and signed, offers not illustration but a sequence of acts on paper. *Le grand défroissement* is painting as book.
Quantity
Messagier, Jean
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
ILLUSTRATORS
Le grand défroissement
1989 | Montpellier | Fata Morgana
A rare book, fully hand-activated, where Messagier’s gesture turns the page into a field. The alliance of calligraphy, Arches, and in-situ variation makes it a keystone for the collector.
An exemplary *livre d’artiste* by Jean Messagier, issued by Éditions Fata Morgana in Montpellier on 14 June 1989, a large quarto of 28 pages. Each copy is hand-enriched by the artist with painted interventions, turning support and pigment into a single body. The publisher’s note speaks of seven interventions, while some descriptions count five—an instructive variance that underscores copy-to-copy individuality. The title is calligraphed by Messagier himself, highlighting the performative nature of the gesture. Printed on Arches and housed in a slipcase, the book protects an intimate encounter with the page. This deluxe tirage of thirty, numbered and signed, offers not illustration but a sequence of acts on paper. *Le grand défroissement* is painting as book.
€1,320
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-4 Carré approx. 27×29 cm
Edition Particulars
One of 30 on Arches; numbered and signed by Messagier; title calligraphed by the artist; with 5 paintings (publisher notes 7; both descriptions circulate).
Print Run
30
Copy Number
No. 23
Paper
Arches
Inscription
Signed by the Author
1
Edition Particulars:
We welcome private inquiries, collaborations with institutions, and acquisition requests. Each message is treated with discretion and respect. We welcome private inquiries, collaborations with institutions, and acquisition requests.
1
Print Run:
Condition Report:
1
Copy Number:
Condition Report:
1
Paper:
Condition Report:
1
Signed:
Condition Report:
Product DETAIL
The title suggests an “un-creasing”: an unfolding of paper, colour, and breath. Leaves keep the trace of gesture—stain, sweep, slowness—so reading takes on the tempo of looking. Calligraphy hinges word and movement. Messagier lets the paper speak; Arches carries both transparent washes and saturated pigment. The work prefers nuance to narrative, making each page a snapshot of action.
Reverdy, Pierre · Braque, Georges
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*Une aventure méthodique* brings together Pierre Reverdy’s concentrated poetic prose and Georges Braque’s austere visual language. It belongs among the major post-war French livres d’artiste, where text, lithography and typography meet as equal forces. Braque contributed 27 original lithographs, supplemented by colour reproductions after his paintings, giving the volume both intimacy and monumentality. Printed by Mourlot, the celebrated Paris lithographic workshop, the book has exceptional technical refinement. This copy, on vélin d’Arches and signed by both author and artist, preserves a rare encounter between modern poetry and pictorial invention.
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This spectacular bibliophile edition of *Le Cœur à gaz* merges poetry and avant-garde theatre in a visually striking object. Illustrated with twelve lithographs by Sonia Delaunay, including seven full-page plates, it showcases the collaboration between Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara and modernist artist Delaunay. The prints are based on her 1923 costume designs, evoking the radical spirit of the time.
