Basel Mural II (middenstuk triptiek voor trappenhuis Kunsthalle Basel)

‘Basel Mural II’ was originally part of a triptych that Sam Francis painted for the staircase of Kunsthalle Basel where the work was installed until 1964. Inspired by Monet’s iconic painting of water lilies (‘Nymphéas’) which Francis saw while living in Paris from 1950-1961, he worked on these vast paintings for over two years. Francis regarded the triptych as his most important work. The oil paint is applied thinly and transparently, suggesting space and light, an effect which is enhanced by the partly unpainted white canvas. Francis’s works are often loosely configured with no clear center, and without perspective. The artist works intuitively and with a strong spatial awareness which may have derived from his training as a pilot. Francis was also influenced by the approaches of Rothko and Pollock; his work combines elements of colorfield painting and action painting. He is also considered an Abstract Expressionist.