Julius Bissier

One of the earliest modern painters inspired by the art and philosophy of the Far East, Julius Bissier is best known for his abstract ink paintings. Working primarily through a technique of “wash drawing” in black India ink, he used deceptively simple gestures that were simultaneously controlled and spontaneous, in the manner of Chinese monochrome painting. Bissier was strongly influenced by Taoism, and through Constantin Brancusi gained an understanding of art as an act of meditation. He painted biomorphic forms, detritus, symbols, and abstract explorations of color. Bissier developed a technique of egg-and-oil tempera for the later works on small canvas he called “miniatures”—symbolically rich compositions of multiple, densely colored washes.