Félix Labisse

Selected Works

Félix Labisse
Le baiser, 1928
Huile sur toile
66,5 x 54,2 cm
Signée en bas à droite

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Some of the works depicted are no longer available.

Biography

« Do not try to escape it, it would be a waste of time and a disaster for your vanity. Its spells are powerful and its benefits are foolproof. ...
Chances will have effects, secret desires will come true, metamorphoses will take place. Behind this half-open door, an unknown woman will appear; this velvety shadow will materialize into a young, warm African body; this laurel will become Daphne again, this rock Niobe, this cow Io. » Félix Labisse, 1954

Félix Labisse (1905 - 1982), is an artist first marked by Flemish expressionism, the creations of his friend James Ensor, then theater and French literature.
His work took shape at the end of the 1920s, linking a strange metamorphosis to the representation of eroticized women, thus creating a seductive world of magic and fantasy, culminating in the 1960s with his "Blue Women".
Félix Labisse, began painting, influenced by Flemish expressionism in 1923 upon his arrival in Belgium. In Ostend, he linked up with James Ensor whose painting revealed symbols and modern techniques in the representation of peasants, cohorts of warriors, dwarves and masks, elements that we find in Labisse's first painting.
In 1927, back in Paris, he became interested in French culture as well as literature and theater which earned him new friendships: Paul Eluard, Philippe Soupault, Robert Desnos, Jacques Prévert and Jean-Louis Barrault who wrote texts of all kinds and monographs on Labisse.
His painting tends towards metamorphosis and the representation of women with seductive bodies, mixing fantasy, magic, esoteric rituals and eroticism. His passion for theater adds a timeless, strange and sometimes humorous atmosphere.

In 1940, Félix Labisse became a major figure in new French art. We owe him the creation of the decor, among around sixty others, of Kafka's "The Trial" directed by Jean-Louis Barrault.
The 1960s were marked by the representation of "Blue Women", fine, naked, eroticized heroines, in pale to dark blue colors, contributing greatly to its fame
Félix Labisse's works are mainly found in the collections of French museums, in Belgium and at the P. Guggenheim Museum in New York, but a large part of his work is found in private collections.

Public Collections

Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, Musée de la Chartreuse, Drouais, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen, Musée Royal d'Art Moderne, Bruxelles, Musée Ensor, Ostende, Musée Gaspar, Arlon, P. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Bibliography

Robert Desnos, Félix Labisse, Editions Sequana, Paris, 1945. Christian Dotremont, Labisse, Editions « La Boétie », Bruxelles, 1946. Labisse, Instituto de Arte Moderno, Cahier 6, Buenos Aires, 1950. Félix Labisse, Les Cahier d’Art-Documents, numéro 83, Editions Pierre Cailler, Genève, 1958. Patrick Waldberg, Félix Labisse, éditions André de Rache, Bruxelles, 1970. Elverio Maurizi, Incontro con Labisse, Editions La Nuova Foglio, Pollenza - Macerata, 1974. Les 400 coups du Diable, Editions La Nuova Foglio, Pollenza - Macerata, 1975. Félix Labisse, Editions Frédéric Birr, Paris, 1975. Catalogue 1927 - 1979 de l’œuvre peint de Labisse, Isy Brachot éditeur, Bruxelles, 1979. Suite du Catalogue de l’œuvre peint 1979 - 1981, Isy Brachot éditeur, Bruxelles, 1986. Catalogue de la Rétrospective Félix Labisse, Centre d’Action Culturelle - L’Hippodrome et Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai, 1986. Catalogue de l’Hommage à Félix Labisse, Cordes sur Ciel, 2005. Catalogue de la Rétrospective Félix Labisse, Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Carcassonne, Editions Snoeck, 2005. Jean Binder, Félix Labisse - Felix sub veneficae labis, ALC éditions, Paris, 2019