Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase)

*Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase)*

Artist	Jean Dubuffet
Year	1964 (1964)
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	97.2 cm × 140 cm (38.25 in × 54 in)
Location	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase) is an oil painting by French artist Jean Dubuffet. It has been part of the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art since 1992.

Description

Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase) appears abstract. It consists of a large free-form shape that nearly fills the canvas and is placed on a dark, textured background. This large shape contains smaller, neatly outlined, puzzle-like shapes, most of which are white and filled with parallel lines. The main colors in the work are limited to red, white, blue, and black. These features are all characteristic of Dubuffet's style at the time. Although the shapes are abstracted, a boat or ship and fishermen can be seen, and the title suggests they are fishing for whiting.^[1] In contrast with the foreground image, the background is dark and heavily textured with brushwork.

Historical information

Throughout his career, Dubuffet created his works as parts of distinct, self-contained series or cycles. Courre Merlan was a part of his Hourloupe cycle, which was the longest-running series, from July 1962 to 1974. Paintings in the Hourloupe are marked by flattened shapes, delineated with dark or black outlines, and a mostly limited color palette--red, white, blue and black. Dubuffet was initially inspired by ballpoint pen doodles he created while talking on the telephone.^[2] He believed this style reflected the way objects are seen in the mind. In the Hourloupe series, Dubuffet also veered into three-dimensional sculptures and installations. The Hourloupe cycle, and this work, also reflect Dubuffet’s affinity for “art brut”—art produced by children, psychiatric patients, and other untrained artists. In addition, although Dubuffet did not consider himself a Surrealist, he was influenced by the surrealist interest in the unconscious.^[1]

Dubuffet believed that art addressed itself to the mind and not the physical world. With works such as Courre Merlan that portray objects with little or no reference to their actual colors or dimensions, he intended to prove that the world within the painting might be just as real as the physical world. Dubuffet argued that individuals could create their own versions of reality. ^[2]

Artist

Main article: Jean Dubuffet

References

1 2 "Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase)". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
1 2 Glimcher, Mildred. Jean Dubuffet: Towards an Alternative Reality. Abbeville Press, 1987, p. 15.

External links

Artworks in the Collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Significant
Artworks

African Art	Face mask Senufo female ancestor figure Magbo helmet mask for Oro society Palace plaque depicting warrior Guardian figure Healing of Abiku Children

American Painting and Sculpture to 1945	Afternoon Tea Cliff Rock--Appledore Dorothy Hotel Lobby Hurricane Jimson Weed Morning at Grand Manan Preparing for the Matinee Red Kimono on the Roof Reflections Sunlight The Boat Builders The Flight of Europa The Love Song The Rainbow Tidying Up U.S.A. Untitled (The Birth)

Asian Art	Bowl with two violet spots Cong-shaped vase Covered jar with carp design Fine Wind, Clear Morning Ksitigarbha bodhisattva Ritual wine server Shigaraki ware storage jar Vase with carved peony scrolls Vase with nine peach design

Contemporary Art	Acton Courre Merlan (Whiting Chase) Egyptian Barnyard LOVE (painting) LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Untitled Untitled

Decorative Arts	Angel of the Resurrection Coffee service High chest of drawers Portland Vase Side chair

European Painting and Sculpture to 1945	Aristotle Battle Between Carnival and Lent Breton Women at a Wall Broek in Waterland Charing Cross Bridge Crucifix Crucifixion Enclosed Field with Peasant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Entry of Christ into Jerusalem House in Provence Landscape near Arles Ma Jolie Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene Man and Woman Peasant with a Wheelbarrow Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments Self-Portrait Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar Still Life with Profile of Laval The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise The Boy The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe The Country Dance The Crucifixion The Fifth Plague of Egypt The Flageolet Player on the Cliff The Flight into Egypt The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The House of the Deaf Woman and the Belfry at Eragny The Negress The Seamstress The Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome The Two Sisters The Valkhof at Nijmegen Triptych of the Annunciation Vorhor, the Green Wave

Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle

Oceanic Art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)

Prints, Drawings, and Photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue

Textile and Fashion Arts	Moroccan wall hanging Chinese Souls #2 Eli Lilly Family Quilt Evening dress Woman's apron Sumbanese woman's ceremonial skirt

Outdoor
Artworks
by Location

Museum Grounds	Above and Below La Hermana del Hombre Bóveda LOVE Memories of Prague Mother and Child Numbers 1-0 Snowplow Stumbling Man Sutphin Fountain Two Figures Two Lines Oblique Down, Variation III

Oldfields	Copy of Diana of Versailles Diana with Dog Female and Male Herm Fountain Four Seasons Landon-Era Birdbath Mother and Child (Gordine) Nymph and Fawn Sundial, Boy With Spider The Three Graces Pair of Urns

100 Acres	Bench Around the Lake Eden II Free Basket Funky Bones Indianapolis Island Park of Laments Stratum Pier Team Building (Align)

Artworks on Loan	East Gate/West Gate Mega-Gem Portrait of History Sewall Memorial Torches Spaces with Iron

De-accessioned Artworks	Broken Walrus II Holistic Image VIII Weather Tower

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