Roger Raveel (b. 1921)

Sale De Vuyst, 8 December 2001, lot 512

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Roger Raveel, 1982

R. Jooris, a.o., Roger Raveel, Venlo 1981, pp. 42, 90, 133, illustrated in colour

Hairline paint cracking in the white segment overall and some minor ones in the left side of the light blue column. Otherwise in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Roger Raveel was born in Machelen-aan-de-Leie where he lives to this day. He is an artist of observation and it is here, in the surroundings of that country village and in his walks from home to his studio, that he observed modern life. Taking his own surroundings as his starting point was extremely important to him, as he once said: "It is only the things that I knew, with which I was familiar and which I had caught in the fullness of their reality that I could approach in a way that was free of pictorial aestheticism." 

The painter does not omit shadows in his paintings as they can bring about a certain sense of belonging. If you deprive things of their shadows they are left isolated, or at least apparently less connected. This way the painter can present things in a different way than we are used to seeing, enabling him to show for instance that there is something happening with the objects in question.

By removing one kind of depth "shadows" the painter achieves another, more alien kind. In each instance strange gaps appear in the canvas - spaces and surfaces that are both there and not there. Fragments of no-man's-land that we can't quite place and which thus have an alienating effect. It seems that much of Raveel's work revolves around these gaps.

The white strip with its blue outline that vertically overlaps the background is a standard feature in Raveel's works. It seems abstract, yet in comparison to other elements of the painting it teaches us something different: the abstract strip becomes a post to a fence in the background or for a washing line like the central post behind the man. 

The embracing man and woman are almost abstract against the white background. The white is frequently a void to be filled by the viewer's mind. The loss of facial expression has a similar function, although the viewer can not read the man's emotion the hug reveals the emotional tension between the two figures whilst the bright redness of the other person reveals a sense of love for this man. At the same time the different grades of red against the somewhat dull greyish suit withholds a similar tension that is noticeable in the subject of the painting itself as a tension in the relationship between men and women and their surroundings.  

The alien aspects, the open gaps, abstract forms, mystery and whiteness are to be filled in by the viewer. Raveel combines the elements taken from life and the space of illusion in his paintings. Abstract in contrast with figurative, art against reality, absence and present, organic and geometry all bring complexity to his work but still offers room for interpretation by the viewer. This way Raveel asks the viewer to participate in his creations.