René ALLIO (1924 - 1995) - Lot 195

René ALLIO (1924 - 1995) Abstract composition in green Oil on canvas Signed and dated 61 lower left; dated 25/3/61, numbered 135R, titled "Marais" and signed on the back 81.3 cm x 116.5 cm Born in Marseille in 1924, René Allio soon turned his hand to painting, and from 1948 onwards he began executing small-format figurative and social works, often in hues very similar to his work in the performing arts, for which he enjoyed great success. From 1958-1959 onwards, he worked on large formats in a highly gestural abstract expression that can be described as tachism. His palette, highly nuanced and subtly colored, was then used for subjects linked to nature, particularly trees, rain and marshes, allowing him to maintain a tenuous link with figuration in the titles of his works. Clearly, his work as a painter was overshadowed by his work as a theater designer with Roger Planchon from 1957, with whom he worked for over ten years. Noted for his modern take on classic plays, he was sought after by numerous theatrical institutions, and soon moved on to directing and filming, for which he made "La vieille dame indigne" (The Unworthy Old Lady), adapted from a text by B. Brecht, which brought him to the attention of the general public. An observer of territories and social life, a conduit for the stories of the provinces, a "cultural decentralizer"; it's in these registers that the fundamentals of René Allio's all-too-rare painting are to be found.