Rating and value of paintings by Pierre Dmitrienko

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Artist's rating and value

An important figure in lyrical abstraction, Pierre Dmitrienko has established himself as an indisputable player on the art market.

Highly prized and sought-after in auction rooms, some of his works can fetch hundreds of thousands of euros - they sell on the auction market for between €10 and €95,000, showing a rising market value,

as evidenced by his oil on canvas Montagne rouge au sud de l'Espagne, dating from 1959, which sold for €95,000 in 2007, whereas it was estimated at between €35,000 and €45,000.   

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

Pierre Dmitrienko, a leading figure in 20th-century French abstraction, developed a deeply introspective style, in which material and composition become vectors of intense emotion.

His technique is characterized by a bold use of texture, where the surfaces of his canvases, often marked by impasto, reveal a constant dialogue between order and chaos.

Dmitrienko favors a dark, restrained palette, dominated by earthy tones, deep grays and intense blacks, which he sometimes illuminates with brighter touches, such as bright reds or whites, creating a dramatic contrast that amplifies the visual power of his works.

His work is based on a rigorous spatial construction, in which geometric shapes creep in without ever freezing the composition. He plays on oppositions between rigid lines and free flat areas, between zones of density and lighter spaces, giving his canvases a palpable tension.

The material, often scraped, hollowed or layered, reflects an almost physical engagement with its support, as if each gesture testifies to an inner quest, a need to transcend the visible to reach the essence of things.

This approach gives his art an almost telluric dimension, where each canvas seems imbued with a raw, primordial energy. 

In his works, Dmitrienko seeks not only to represent, but to convey an experience, a vision in which abstraction becomes a universal language, capable of evoking deep, complex emotions.

His mastery of gesture, combined with a deep reflection on matter and light, makes his style an essential contribution to the history of modern abstraction, where the intimate and the monumental come together in a subtle, deeply evocative balance.

The life of Pierre Dmitrienko

Pierre Dmitrienko (1925-1974) was born in Paris into a family of Russian origin, marked by exile and the upheavals of history. This heritage nurtured a particular artistic sensibility, which he developed over the course of a resolutely independent career.

Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Dmitrienko quickly turned away from academic conventions to embrace an abstract path.

His career took shape in the effervescence of the post-war period, when abstract art underwent a revival driven by a generation in search of reconstruction and innovation.

Dmitrienko quickly established himself on the Parisian scene, exhibiting his work at Galerie Arnaud and other emblematic venues. His compositions, often dark and imbued with palpable tension, testify to a mastery of materials and contrasts.

At the same time, he has made a name for himself as a set designer, bringing his painter's eye to the world of theater, where light and space become elements to be shaped.

Despite a prematurely interrupted career, his work remains coherent, driven by an artistic vision that refuses to compromise.

Even today, Dmitrienko's influence on lyrical abstraction remains unavoidable. His work, both introspective and universal, reflects the hopes and uncertainties of his time.

He remains a singular figure, whose contribution goes beyond traditional frameworks to engage with the issues of his time.

Focus on Composition, Pierre Dmitrienko, 1960

It would be easy to overlook Pierre Dmitrienko's work Composition, as one would a purely abstract ensemble, without recognizable forms or explicit narratives.

And yet, this canvas, in its construction and visual impact, calls for a deeper reflection on the evolution of abstraction in the 1950s-1960s.

Dmitrienko doesn't try to dazzle with novel processes or spectacular breaks: his technique is based above all on balanced masses, dense colors and controlled, almost meditative gestures.

The work seems to dialogue more with the classical traditions of painting than with the effervescent experimentation of the time.

The dark tones, heightened by vivid hues, evoke an almost baroque gravity, while the lines and textures evoke patient work, where each brushstroke is inscribed as an essential affirmation.

In this, Dmitrienko runs counter to the more gestural or lyrical tendencies of his contemporaries, preferring silent introspection to exuberance.

This technical and aesthetic choice is a kind of appeal to classicism within abstraction. Far from being content with spontaneous expression, Dmitrienko works his surfaces like palimpsests, superimposing layers that reveal an almost archaeological depth.

It is a reminder of the slowness of creation, a resistance to the ephemeral.

In this way, Composition not only reflects the abstraction of her time, but also questions it, restraining it, the better to reveal its foundations. It is in this tension, between classical heritage and modern élan, that the work's strength lies.

It invites not immediate reading, but patient contemplation, in which every detail reveals a part of Dmitrienko's inner world.

Pierre Dmitrienko's imprint on his era

Pierre Dmitrienko, while a contemporary of the great modern experiments, has made his mark in a subtle, almost discreet way.

In a context where the avant-garde seemed to dominate, where art claimed more than ever to be an act of rupture, Dmitrienko chose a different path, that of thoughtful abstraction, of matter as intimate research.

Unlike some of his peers, he did not seek to overthrow the established order or revolutionize techniques, but rather to explore the infinite possibilities of abstraction through layers of ink, masses of color and pure forms.

His work does not simply follow the trends of his time. On the contrary, it becomes their counterpoint. In a world where urgency and brilliance predominated, Dmitrienko imposed slowness, restraint and even a form of rigor.

He is not one to be satisfied with the visible or the spectacular. His approach is based on meticulous work on the surface, an examination of matter and space. This research brings him closer to a more introspective vision of abstraction, which is built on time and repetition, not on the brilliance of the moment.

Dmitrienko's mark on his period lies precisely in this approach: he embodies a measured, intellectual abstraction, in contrast to the sensual outbursts of other modern movements.

His influence can be seen not only in the aesthetic he left behind, but also in the way he helped enrich the language of abstraction, making it denser, more organic, but also more charged with deeply personal thought.

Far from the limelight of the avant-garde, his singularity left a discreet but undeniable mark on his era.

Pierre Dmitrienko's stylistic influences

In his aesthetic quest, Pierre Dmitrienko has drawn on precise stylistic influences, the fruit of in-depth reflection.

While his work reveals a geometric rigor and a fascination with construction and structure, it is also inspired by the research of Serge Poliakoff, a pioneer of colored abstraction.

Like Poliakoff, Dmitrienko invests color as a fundamental component of his language, but with a quieter, almost meditative intention, preferring purity to chromatic explosion.

The lyrical abstraction movement, particularly that explored by Jean Arp, also leaves a palpable trace in Dmitrienko's work. From the latter, he borrows the fluidity of forms, a certain taste for the sensuality of curves blending with space.

But where Arp set his forms free in a kind of organic dance, Dmitrienko imposes strict control on the painting's momentum, transforming the artist's intuition into a more stable architecture.

We can also perceive a resonance with the work of Jacques Doucet, particularly in his approach to geometric forms, where Dmitrienko demonstrates a desire to reconcile pure abstraction with sensibility.

Like Doucet, he experimented with the contrast between dynamic forms and more solid structures, but he remained more attached to a certain contemplation of his own, far removed from the spectacular flights of fancy of his contemporaries. With this synthesis, Dmitrienko traces an aesthetic path of his own, rooted in the rigor of geometric abstraction, yet cultivating an emotional depth specific to his era. 

His signature

Pierre Dmitrienko's works are not all signed.

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

Appraising your property

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