SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Born in Paris in 1934 and deceased in 2019, Michel Haas developed a body of work in which paper is not merely a support: he crumples, tears and inks it, giving his compositions a sculptural quality. He prefers to speak of “technique in paper” rather than “technique on paper”, a formulation that underscores the place of material in his work. According to the gallery’s biography, an experience as a student in front of a freshly ploughed field, whose underside and interior he perceives, leads him to become a painter and directs his attention towards material.
He studies philosophy and deepens his knowledge of Renaissance painting; the gallery also reports that his solitary journeys to remote regions nourish his search for the primordial and the immemorial, associated with the world of so-called arts premiers and Palaeolithic figures.
Attentive to the spectacle of everyday life, Haas depicts anonymous people in the street, sometimes identified by a gesture or an action, as well as motifs such as the cyclist, the couple, the cat or the bouquet. Serial repetition is significant in this work: the embracing couple, in particular, recurs over the years. Printmaking is also an important part of his practice. In 1998, an exhibition was dedicated to him at the Musée Maillol, Fondation Dina Vierny, in Paris.
This profile brings together identity references for Michel Haas and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
10 references are documented at Genève Enchères, Piguet, Germann. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Mixed media on paper
Portrait
technique mixte sur papier
Catalogue period : 2020-06-18
Published result : 2200 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 400–600
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technique mixte, peinture à la colle sur papier
Catalogue period : 2014-10-08
Published result : 1700 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 800–1200
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Mixed media on paper
Fleur, 1988
Mischtechnik auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Mixed media on paper
Petit fruit rouge, 1992
Mischtechnik auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Mixed media on paper
Figure
Mischtechnik auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Mixed media on paper
La Danse, 1988
Mischtechnik auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Mixed media on paper
La Danse, 1988
Mischtechnik auf Papier.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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technique mixte, peinture à la colle sur papier
Catalogue period : 2014-12-10
Published result : 700 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 800–1200
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technique mixte, peinture à la colle sur papier
Catalogue period : 2014-12-10
Published result : 600 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 800–1200
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technique mixte, peinture à la colle sur papier
Le Duo
technique mixte, peinture à la colle sur papier
Catalogue period : 2015-06-17
Published result : 1000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 800–1200
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
