Nu jaune et calme

Nu Jaune et Calme (Naked Yellow and Calm) offers the alluring sight of a nude young woman with a strong gaze. A photographic enlargement covered with bright yellow, this characteristic 1960s cover girl stands out from a composite background combining painting and a collage on panel. While suggesting an open window on his native Côte d'Azur, Raysse recalls his attraction to the vibrant profusion of colour.

But deep ambivalence lies at the heart of the idyllic sight. The intensity of the yellow blurs the outlines of the face and body and emphasises their softness, while a shadow distorts an exaggeratedly round breast. The idea that the body that has become a fetish, a vision specific to Raysse's work reflecting on modern womanhood, emerges from a form of femininity vaunted by modern society.

Raysse's Nu Jaune et Calme assemblage is in the Pinault Collection. It was first exhibited during the Raysse retrospective at the Palazzo Grassi in 2015.