Framed Vintage Mid-Century Art by Jean Boquet

This original work by the Belgian modernist Jean Boquet (1908–1976) imagines a visionary city. At its center is a coral and peach spire built from stacked circles, squares and diamonds. It rises from a forest of pale crystalline peaks under a soft blue sky streaked with long, lens-shaped clouds. Dark rounded arches in black, forest green and slate blue frame the scene like the mouth of a cave or a window onto another world. Geometric towers gather at the right.

Boquet was born in Brussels and trained at the Académie de Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In the 1950s and 60s he belonged to the city’s artist circles L’Ebauche and Jecta. He started out painting expressive figures and portraits. Over time he reduced landscapes and cities to their essential shapes, and his futuristic cityscapes are among his most distinctive works. Dealers have noted that he often built his compositions around the music of Bach. You can see it here in the rhythm of repeated arches and the steady climb of the central spire.

The work is presented in a gray mat and a slim silver metal frame. Its cool palette with a warm center would anchor a modern living room, an office or a gallery wall.

Details

• Artist: Jean Boquet (Belgian, 1908–1976)
• Medium: Gouache on paper
• Circa 1950s–60s
• Signed lower left “J. Boquet”
• Framed: 20" W × 16" H, gray mat, silver metal frame
• Condition: Very good vintage condition