Since beginning his artistic creation in the 1940s, Georges Mathieu has been an avant-garde, path-breaking leader in French art and one of the pioneers of Lyrical Abstraction. In 1976, 55-year-old Mathieu was named to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, marking the broader acceptance of his avant-garde practice and ushering in another high point in an already successful career. Hommage à Ortega y Gasset (Lot 1020), painted in 1976, is an important work from his 1970s Période Royale. Hommage à Ortega y Gasset was first exhibited at 'Georges Mathieu – Peintures 1976', a solo show held at Galeria Beaubourg in Barcelona in 1976. Mathieu created 32 works specifically for the show, including the iconic Hommage à Ortega y Gasset. He also had his picture taken with the piece during the show, providing a valuable record of the work. Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset was an important figure in twentieth-century philosophy, and his ideas and politics had a profound influence on Spanish intellectuals; his work successfully brought philosophy to the masses and Spain further into European culture. Mathieu's homage to Ortega y Gasset shows how much he valued his Barcelona solo show and respected Spanish culture and philosophy.

During his Période Royale, Mathieu's colours and compositions took on a royal brilliance and grandeur, and Hommage à Ortega y Gasset is an exemplary work from this t.mes . The composition of Hommage à Ortega y Gasset was inspired by European royal crests, and it bears some resemblance to the coat of arms of Napoleon I. The energy of this painting is concentrated in the centre and radiates outward in all directions, much like the crossed staffs in Napoleon's coat of arms. The block of blue in the centre of the painting echoes the blue shield that sits behind the eagle. The red, blue, and golden yellow are typical colours in such crests, and the nearly two-metre-long canvas gives the work an imposing vigour. After his world travels, Mathieu's interest in European culture manifested in his coat of arms-inspired Période Royale, a breakthrough t.mes in his career marked by his use of abstract form to re-examine the most identifiable trappings of European royalty.

Hommage à Ortega y Gasset is a masterpiece from Georges Matheiu's Période Royale, as well as an important work from the 1960s and 1970s that has immense value for collects ors. This work was exhibited as part of 'Georges Mathieu: Les annés 1960-1970', a solo show held at Templon in Paris in 2018. L'écart.mes nt de François Ravaillac, assassin du Roi de France Henri IV, which was also shown in that exhibition, is currently in the collects ion of the Long Museum in Shanghai and was recently exhibited at 'Multiple Sights: The Tenth Anniversary of the Long Museum'.

自一九四〇年代开启藝術創作，喬治·馬修一直以前衛、突破傳統的手法引領法國藝壇，並成為法國「抒情抽象」畫派的創始人之一。一九七六年，年僅55歲的喬治·馬修榮獲法蘭西藝術學院院士的頭銜，標誌著藝術家的前衛藝術創作得到廣泛認可，踏入事業鼎盛時期；《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》（拍品編號1020）即誕生於此年，是馬修七〇年代「皇家時期」的代表作。《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》首次展出即是於一九七六年巴塞羅那堡博畫廊（Galeria Beaubourg）為馬修舉辦的《喬治·馬修 - 1976年畫作》個展。馬修極為此展特別創作了32副作品，《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》便是其中標誌性的作品之一，更是於展覽現場留下與此作珍貴的合照，甚為可貴。西班牙哲學家奧特加·加塞特是二十世紀最著名的哲學家之一，他的思想和時政理念對西班牙的知識分子帶去了深厚的影響；他的作品成功讓哲學文獻更接近「普通大眾」，亦成功將西班牙進一步融入歐洲文化的廣泛傳播。馬修以此作向加塞特致敬，由此可見馬修對此巴塞羅那個展的重視，以及西班牙文化與哲學的敬意。

此時，馬修的創作風格踏入「皇家時期」(Période Royale)，在構圖及用色上都盡顯輝煌澎湃的皇家氣概，《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》即是此時期的佳作。《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》的構圖以歐洲皇家勳章為靈感，與拿破崙在任時的法國國徽相比，即可見視覺上的相似點。此作的畫面能量聚焦在中心，向畫面四周放射，正如國徽上相交的權杖；畫面中央的藍色色塊則呼應國徽上的藍色盾徽。用色上，此作中紅、藍、金黃的三主色正是國徽上的顏色，在近兩米的大尺幅畫布上盡顯高貴莊嚴的銳氣。以歐洲皇家勳章為靈感的『皇家時期』，是馬修遊歷世界後追朔歐洲傳統文化，以抽象形式重新審視歐洲皇室文化最具識別度元素的突破性時期。

《向奧特加·加塞特致敬》不僅是「皇家時期」的傑作，更是馬修六〇、七〇年代代表性的作品之一，機具收藏價值。此作層在二〇一八年展出於巴黎Templon畫廊的<喬治·馬修 1960 - 1970>個展中，同一展覽另一展出作品《對刺殺法國國王亨利四世的刺客佛朗索瓦·拉瓦萊克除以極刑，1610年5月27日，巴黎格列夫廣場》現藏於上海龍美術館，並曾於近期《多重景觀：龍美術館十週年特展》中展出。