Artwork
Les cinq sens
Les cinq sens is an oil painting by Georges Valmier. It dates from 1931 and is held in the collection of the Musée d'art moderne de Paris.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1931, *Les cinq sens* is an oil painting by French artist Georges Valmier. Executed within the Purist tendency, the work presents a composition of interlocking geometric forms rendered in a limited palette of green, yellow, black and white. The painting resides in the Musée d’art moderne de Paris and exemplifies Valmier’s late‑career focus on abstract, structured visual language.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas does not portray recognizable objects; instead, it arranges abstract shapes that suggest an exploration of the five senses through visual rhythm. The juxtaposition of contrasting colors and overlapping planes invites viewers to consider perception itself, aligning with the Purist aim of reducing art to essential, harmonious elements.
Technique & Style
Valmier employed a meticulous preparatory process, sketching precise drafts before committing to oil. The final image features crisp black outlines that define each geometric fragment, while the flat areas of color are applied with even, non‑modulated brushwork. This approach reflects the Purist emphasis on clarity, order, and the elimination of decorative excess.
History & Provenance
Valmier, whose career spanned Impressionism, Cubism and later abstraction, produced fewer than three hundred oil paintings before his death at 51. *Les cinq sens* entered the collection of the Musée d’art moderne de Paris, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s holdings on interwar French modernism.
Context
The painting emerges from the interwar period when Purism, founded by Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant, sought to reconcile modern industrial aesthetics with artistic rigor. Valmier’s work, while rooted in Cubist fragmentation, adopts Purism’s stricter geometry and restrained palette, illustrating the cross‑currents of French avant‑garde movements in the early 1930s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Georges Valmier (11 April 1885 – 25 March 1937) was a French painter. His work encompassed the great movements in the modern history of painting, starting with Impressionism in his early years, then Cubism which he…
