Foundling No. 1, 2008

Dimensions: 35 x 45 cm

Physical Description: Acrylic and oil on canvas

Inventory Number: LG 83

Acquisition: On permanent loan from the Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg near Vienna since 2010

Status: On display, lower level, Contemporary Art, room 7

Texts

About the Work

‘Foundling No. 1’ depicts a so-called French curve, or curve template, in white. It is subjected to the viewer’s gaze like a germ cell under a microscope. The title reinforces associations of organic origins. Raoul De Keyser has adopted the principle of the objet trouvé, introduced to art by the Surrealists and Marcel Duchamp, and returned it to painting. The French curve, a symbol of precision, is here hand-painted – and almost dissolves in the work’s painterly aesthetic.