"Scribbling, scratching, working on the canvas, painting it finally, seem to me to be human activities that are as immediate, spontaneous and simple as can be singing, dancing or the play of an animal that runs, stamps or snorts."
Hans Hartung was a leading figure of the European Lyrical Abstraction movement and gestural abstraction, known for his innovative techniques and dynamic use of line and color. His exploration of spontaneity and texture emphasizes the physical act of painting as a performance. Created in 1962, T1962-L38 hails from the emblematic period of Hartung’s methodological shift. From the early 1960s onwards, Hartung’s works demonstrate a new style characterized by scrapings in the still set paint which allow the underlying layers and canvas to show through. Through this technique, he obtained different effects of the freshly painted surface, forming complex networks of lines that evolve on the canvas, which is exemplified in the present work. His works, although born of spontaneous, emotional impulses, were structured and incredibly harmonious.
"I felt a bewitching terror in front of the storms, I vibrated under their force, under their power [...]. My childish flashes of lightning had, I am sure, an influence on my artistic development, on my way of painting. They gave me a sense of the speed of the line, the desire to seize the instant with the pencil or the brush, they made me aware of the urgency of spontaneity.”
As seen in this work, Hartung utilized fast-drying vinyl and acrylic paints, allowing him to work with fluidity, speed and precision. He experimented with unconventional tools, such as rakes, spray guns, and tree branches, to create unconventional textures and sculptural effects. Hartung’s works were deeply influenced by his childhood fascination with lightning, which he described as a source of “bewitching terror”. In this work, Hartung impels a calligraphic rhythm through his brushstrokes of speed and strength, which extend across an impressive scale of 2.5 meters long.
Hartung's career in the 1960s was marked by his ascension to the pinnacle of international recognition, transitioning from a carefully controlled method of enlarging small sketches to a more spontaneous, experimental, and technologically driven style. This decade, often considered one of his most emblematic periods, followed his 1960 victory of the Grand International Prize for painting at the Venice Biennale.
「塗鴉、刻畫、在畫布上揮灑筆墨，最終完成繪畫，在我看來，這些都是人類的活動，它們如同歌唱、舞蹈，或是動物奔跑、跺腳、噴鼻般自然、自發而簡單。」
漢斯·哈同是歐洲抒情抽象運動和姿態抽象的領軍人物，以其創新的技術、動態的線條與流動的色彩運用而聞名。他對即興性和畫面質感的探索，將繪畫過程化爲一種表演的藝術形式。 《T1962-L38 》創於 1962 年，是哈同創作方法論轉變的標誌性時期。六〇年代初開始，哈同的作品展示了一個嶄新的風格轉折，他在仍未乾透的顏料上創造刮擦的痕跡，讓底層的顏料和畫布透現出來。通過這一技術，他在作品中成就了截然不同畫面的效果，線條演變出複雜而靈動的網絡，而本作即爲經典範例。雖然哈同的畫作往往源自即興感以及具爆發力的情感表現，但卻顯示出和諧無比、而且嚴謹的整體結構。
「面對暴風雨，我感到一種令人著迷的恐懼，我被它們的力量和威力所震顫……我孩提時代那些閃電般的筆觸，肯定對我的藝術發展和繪畫方式產生了影響。它們讓我感受到線條的速度，渴望用鉛筆或畫筆捕捉瞬間，它們讓我意識到自發性的緊迫性。」
本作中，哈同使用了快乾的乙烯基和壓克力顏料，使其能夠以流暢、快速和精確的方式作畫。藝術家還實驗了使用不尋常的繪畫工具，如耙子、噴漆槍和樹枝等，以創造獨特的質感和雕塑效果。 哈同的創作深受他童年時對閃電的迷戀所啓發，他將閃電形容為一種「令人著迷的恐懼」的能量。在本作中，哈同通過迅速而有力的筆觸，賦予了線條如書法般的節奏，並如閃電般橫掃於長達2.5米的畫幅上。
哈同在六〇年代屢獲國際認可，包括在1960年贏得了威尼斯雙年展的國際繪畫大獎，標誌著其職業生涯抵達巔峰；六〇年代的作品從以前更精細而克制的風格，逐漸轉變為更重視即興、實驗性及展現技術的風格，因此被認為是哈同最具標誌性的創作時期。