Vestiges of the Future: Temporality in the Early Work of Pierre Soulages

The article discusses the ways in which abstract art in the post-World War II era was highly conscious of temporality through an examination of the work of French abstract painter Pierre Soulages. The way in which time is construed within these works is compared to philosopher Hannah Arendt's understanding of time in the post-war era. The author explains the influence of artist Paul Cezanne on Soulages' work, noting the use of geometric shapes. It is concluded that Soulages' immediate post-war work demonstrates the artists' ability to display a knowledge of earlier modernist artistic traditions while simultaneously embracing the future.