Acquired from art dealer Marcel Stal of Galerie Carrefour in Brussels, Transposition fig. 1, created in 1954 by the painter Antoine Mortier (1908–1999), became part of the collection of Georges Rémi, known as Hergé fig. 2, likely during the 1960s. It is listed as belonging to Georges Rémi (1907–1983) in the catalog of the artist’s first retrospective, which took place at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels in 1969.
When we began compiling the catalog raisonné of the artist’s work in 2010, we searched in vain for its current owner. By chance while browsing the web, we learned that it had become part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Collection in Lisbon. The oil on canvas painting Transposition measures 146 x 97 cm and was painted in the artist’s studio, which Baroness Lambert had made available to him in her mansion at 24 Avenue Marnix; he occupied this studio from 1953 until thethe fire of 1956.
It has participated in the following exhibitions:
- Exposition du 15 août, Salle des Halles in Bruges, August 15, 1956
- Facetten II Hedendaagse Belgische en Nederlandse schilderkunst, Gemeentemseum, The Hague, Nov. 7, 1955–Jan. 13, 1956
- La jeune Peinture Belge, Poland, June 1–August 31, 1957
- Art Belge, Johnson Gallery, Chicago, USA, June 18–July 19, 1959
- The Art of Belgium 1920–1960, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, USA, June 29–August 5, 1960
- Mortier, Retrospective Exhibition , Palais des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Nov. 25–Dec. 24, 1969
Any information about his career up to this point is welcome.
We would like to extend our special thanks to photographer André Soupart for his contribution to the book “Hergé, Art Collector”, published by La Renaissance du Livre in 2006.
