Rating and value of paintings by Jacques Doucet

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Artist's rating and value 

Jacques Doucet's works are quite present and appreciated on today's art market. A major representative of the Cobra movement and close to lyrical abstraction, Jacques Doucet produced works in a variety of media.

Prized by collectors, his works sell for between €30 and €160,000 on the auction market, a considerable range but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's work.

In 2011, his oil on canvas Tauromachie ou Toréador, dating from 1953, sold for €160,000, whereas its estimate was between €40,000 and €60,000.

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

From an early age, Doucet was interested in poetry and painting. His meeting with the poet Max Jacob in the early 1940s had a profound influence on his artistic beginnings. In 1947, he crossed paths with Corneille, with whom he founded the Cobra movement, which marked a break with the academicism of the time.

In the 1950s, Jacques Doucet turned to lyrical abstraction. Influenced by the gestural energy and spontaneity of this movement, he chose large formats and worked mainly with oils on canvas.

His style is characterized by thick layers of paint, often vigorously applied, creating relief and dense textures. The colors are vivid, contrasting and convey an emotional tension, revealing an intimate and expressive universe.

For Doucet, lyrical abstraction went beyond mere aesthetics: it was a response to the violence of the post-war period. The artists of this movement sought to express pure emotion, without resorting to figuration.

In his paintings, Doucet strives to capture an inner energy, free from formal constraints.

He regularly exhibits his work in France and abroad, taking part in numerous art events that have boosted his reputation.

At the end of his career, he remained faithful to the spirit of lyrical abstraction, where every gesture, every touch, becomes a means of translating the essence of human emotions. His works, often preserved in private collections, continue to bear witness to his commitment to free, sincere painting.

The life of Jacques Doucet

Jacques Doucet (1924-1994) was born in Boulogne-Billancourt and died in Paris. From an early age, he was interested in poetry and painting, two passions that were to mark his career.

In the early 1940s, he met the poet and painter Max Jacob, whose criticism and advice guided his early artistic research.

Doucet began exhibiting his work in 1945, and a few years later, in 1947, he met Guillaume Cornelius van Beverloo, known as Corneille. Together, they co-founded the Cobra movement, which advocated spontaneity and freedom of expression.

In the 1950s, Jacques Doucet turned to lyrical abstraction, a movement that emerged after the Second World War and to which he remained faithful throughout his life.

Other artists were won over by this movement, including Georges Mathieu and Olivier Debré.

Influenced by the gestural energy of the artists of this movement, he favors large canvases, working with oils, and experiments with thick layers of paint to give depth and texture to his works.

His palette, often vibrant, alternates between intense colors and muted tones, expressing a wide range of emotions.

From the 1960s onwards, Doucet continued to develop his style while experimenting with other techniques. He also produced numerous drawings, in which his gesture remained rapid and intuitive, capturing the emotion of an instant.

He takes part in numerous exhibitions, in France and abroad, and his work gains recognition.

Doucet continued to explore new forms of abstraction until the end of his life, remaining true to his desire to translate raw, immediate emotions.

His paintings, mostly in private collections, bear witness to his unceasing quest for artistic freedom and his attachment to lyrical abstraction.

Jacques Doucet's imprint on his period

Jacques Doucet left an indelible mark on his era as an active member of the Cobra movement and a pioneer of lyrical abstraction.

Although not always recognized by the general public, his influence is felt through his ability to capture the essence of a world turned upside down by the horrors of war. With his spontaneous gestures and bold use of color, he helped open up new avenues in abstract art.

His painting, driven by raw energy and freedom of expression, has inspired many artists to free themselves from the constraints of form and focus on pure emotion.

His exhibitions, both in France and abroad, helped lyrical abstraction to gain visibility and make its mark. Although his name is not always the first to come to mind when talking about this movement, his contribution to the evolution of abstract art is indisputable.

Through his commitment, Doucet was part of a veritable reinvention of painting, giving art a more direct and human dimension, and influencing a whole generation of artists who sought to liberate color and form from past conventions.

Focus on Composition abstraite, Jacques Doucet, 1950

Jacques Doucet's work of particular note is Composition abstraite, created in the 1950s. This canvas, both raw and poetic, perfectly embodies the spirit of lyrical abstraction.

Through spontaneous gestures and strong gestural expression, Doucet succeeds in liberating painting from all forms of constraint and intellectualization.

The use of color, mainly dominated by shades of blue, red and yellow, creates a palpable dynamism, almost like a breath that seems to spread across the canvas.

At first glance, the work is striking for its lack of figurative representation. These are not legible figures, landscapes or scenes, but a purely abstract pictorial space. This absence of a direct subject invites the viewer to let himself be guided by emotion and intuition.

The hastily sketched forms seem to emerge from the brushstrokes like a silent cry. Doucet's technique, distinguished by an energetic brushstroke, gives this sense of movement a precise definition.

Brushstrokes are not simply artistic gestures, they are the extension of the artist's thought and emotion, freed from all constraints. Working with materials is also essential to this work.

The paint seems almost palpable, and the relief of the canvas, particularly in the red and blue areas, accentuates this sensation of tension and vitality. This texture materializes the act of creation, the very act of gesture, as it unfolds on the canvas.

Shades of blue dominate the composition, but the balance is upset by bursts of red and yellow, which bring a touch of warmth and energy to the painting.

These bright, sometimes vivid colors seem to dialogue with the surface itself, creating strong contrasts that reinforce the visual intensity of the work. Blue, both calm and deep, evokes a sensation of depth, almost of emptiness.

Red and yellow disrupt this space, like bursts of light or fragments of emotion suddenly released.

This subtle contrast between serenity and agitation, restraint and explosion, perfectly reflects the mood of the times: a period marked by tensions, but also by a need for reconciliation and liberation after the traumas of the Second World War.

The composition is not ordered, but rather a tangle of fluid, dynamic forms. Here we sense the continuity of movement characteristic of lyrical abstraction, which is based on emotion, gesture and color, rather than geometric forms or intellectual constructs.

This painting expresses the intensity of expression and the quest for meaning beyond form, and underlines the importance of creative "letting go", where the artist gives free rein to his instincts.

In this sense, Abstract Composition perfectly embodies the essence of post-war abstract painting, seeking to express emotions, internal tensions and questioning, without ever seeking to depict external reality.

Doucet's work is a veritable manifesto of artistic freedom and a tribute to pure intuition. Through this canvas, he invites the viewer to abandon any search for objective meaning and plunge into a universe where only the energy of gesture and the authenticity of emotion count.

His signature

Not all of Jacques Doucet's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of its signature:

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