In 1964, Adrien Maeght created the ARTE printing press located on rue Daguerre in Paris. Since 1966, Jean-Paul Riopelle works closely with the technicians of this printing press and constantly pushed the limits of this printing technique. According to the art historian Michèle Grandbois, Riopelle's artistic approach, particularly with regard to the technique of printmaking, gives it a very special originality: "His approach to print testifies the invention, the audacity and excessiveness that will make him transgress, if not ignore the traditional rules of the '' beautiful craft ''.

Although the famous Bestiaire series of 1968 does not include an owl, it will be the subject of a major project undertaken by Riopelle two years later. Indeed, in 1970, the artist devoted nearly ten lithographs and several oils on canvas to this theme. Beginnings of a universe in which Riopelle immersed himself at the time, the motif of the owl bears a significant symbolic burden. Often linked to knowledge, wisdom and spirituality, this nocturnal animal allows the artist to convey certain realities and reflections on existence through his works.


Michèle Grandbois, 1980, L’estampe contemporaine québécoise. Volume I, thèse de doctorat en histoire de l’art, Université Laval, 1996, p.180


Yseult Riopelle, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Catalogue raisonné des estampes, Hibou Éditeurs, Montreal, 2005, p. 205, reproduced in color under reference 1970.12EST.LI.AFV

Printer: Imprimerie ARTE Adrien Maeght
Publisher: Maeght Éditeur, Paris

Public collections: MNBA, 37/150 ; BNQ, 41/150 and 42/150 ; MBAM, 44/150

Exhibitions:
– 2005 Riopelle, le parcours du graveur, Gal. Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa, H.C.
– 2005–2006 Jean Paul Riopelle. Impressions sans fin, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, cat. no. 51