Dado Triptyque de Saint Hubert

Dado
1933 - 2010
Triptyque de Saint Hubert

titled on each stretcher
oil on canvas
195,3 x 95,3 cm ; 76 7/8 x 37 ½ in.(each canvas)
Executed in 1973.

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Dado
1933 - 2010
Triptyque de Saint Hubert

titré sur chaque toile
huile sur toile
195,3 x 95,3 cm ; 76 7/8 x 37 ½ in.(each canvas)
Exécuté en 1973.

Condition Report:
Panel A
Close inspection reveals wear along the edges with some associated losses
Central panel B
Close inspection reveals wear along the edges with some associated losses. The canvas is slightly wavy. On the upper left quadrant, there are some traces of black pen.
Panel C
Close inspection reveals wear along the edges with some associated losses. Upon extremely inspection, there are tiny drying cracks on the owl’s beak.
This work is in overall good condition.

Catalogue Note:
Born in 1933, the Montenegrin artist Dado (Miodrag Duric) is known for his works illustrating apocalyptic scenes, which engage a reflection on the human condition. Fascinated by religion and saints, the artist draws from mystical stories to create transgressive compositions. The latter are filled with morbid elements that seemingly divert the purpose of the scene, in order to create a sense of unease.

The work entitled Triptyque de Saint Hubert, created in 1973, attests to the artist’s predilection for the chaotic. The reference to Saint Hubert, which he mobilizes on several occasions, notably in the compositions La Fête de Saint-Hubert à Fleurus and Saint Hubert, constitutes a vehicle enabling him to confer a concrete form to chaos. Inspired by the crucifixion scene, Dado depicts monstrous figures with shredded skin, covered with bony protuberances. These indefinable creatures are present in a space, in which disorder and confusion remain prominent. The central panel displays ghostly figures reminiscent of the grotesque characters represented by Michelangelo in his fresco of the Last Judgment. The figures hanging around the cross refer to the perpetual fall of the damned in hell. As Alain Jouffroy claims, in his article Dado ou la générosité du matin, "Dado's 'religious' theme [...] does not refer to any kind of orthodoxy: Dado's 'Christs' are gang leaders, barbarians, princes nailed to the pillory, asking the people to dance around their pole of torture.” This transgressive approach to religious scenes persists throughout his work, and especially in the composition Le Chemin de Croix, which he painted the same year. Instead of using his signature light blue, in Triptyque de Saint Hubert the artist plunges his figures into darkness, depriving them of any hope of redemption. This dramatic scene is counterbalanced by the presence of the two owls on the right panel. These creatures, to which the artist confers human expressions, are imbued with a certain humor rendering the horror of the triptych more bearable. As for the left panel, it depicts two monstrous figures intertwined on background filled with grass, reminiscent of Francis Bacon's composition Two Figures in the Grass.

Both amusing and frightening, this work is a fragment of the fantastic universe imagined by the artist. Although Dado did not wish to be associated with the Surrealist movement, he did express great admiration for de Chirico and Magritte, from whom he drew inspiration in his early works. His reputation as a surrealist painter is further reinforced by Patrick Waldberg's text in the exhibition catalogue for Dado at the André François Petit gallery. The latter emphasizes the metaphysical atmosphere and the dreamlike aspect of his works. If Dado sees himself as an unclassifiable artist, his close link with surrealism remains undeniable.

In addition to being displayed at a major exhibition at the Jeanne Bucher Gallery, this masterpiece appears in Dado - Hérouval '74, 7, one of the most remarkable films about Dado's work and life directed by the Belgian filmmaker Jean Antoine in 1974. Triptyque de Saint Hubert is a unique piece which emphasizes the artist's complex relationship to both, religion and the current world.

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Né en 1933, l’artiste monténégrin Dado (Miodrag Duric) est réputé pour ses œuvres au caractère apocalyptique, qui engagent une réflexion sur la condition humaine. Fasciné par la religion et les saints, ce dernier, s’empare des récits mystiques pour créer des compositions à la portée transgressive. Ces dernières sont parsemées d’éléments morbides déjouant, dans certains cas, le propos de la scène, en vue de créer un malaise ambiant.

L’œuvre intitulée Triptyque de Saint Hubert, réalisée en 1973 atteste d’une prédilection pour le chaotique. La référence à saint Hubert qu’il mobilise à plusieurs reprises, notamment dans les compositions La Fête de Saint-Hubert à Fleurus et Saint Hubert, n’est qu’un prétexte lui permettant de donner une forme concrète au désordre. Inspiré par la scène de crucifixion, Dado fait intervenir des figures...