SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Jean-Michel Atlan, who also signs simply “Atlan”, was a painter and poet born in Constantine, Algeria, and who died in Paris. Born into a Jewish-Berber family, he arrived in Paris in 1930 to study philosophy at the Sorbonne, where he obtained his degree in 1933. After teaching philosophy, he was dismissed from teaching under the Vichy regime, in application of the anti-Jewish laws. Poetry accompanied his career as a teacher and later as a painter. During his internment at Sainte-Anne, he made his first paintings on improvised materials. At the Liberation of Paris, he chose to devote himself fully to painting.
His pictorial language combines biomorphic forms and signs in compositions where lines can be sharp, but are more often supple and flowing. The exploration of materials is part of this approach: he described his need for a surface that was at once like a fresco and an oil painting, achieved through absorbent preparations, burlap and mixtures of powders, oil and pastel.
In 1947, he terminated his contract with the Maeght gallery. From 1958, he lived and worked mainly in Villiers-sur-Tholon, in the Yonne. His exhibitions in 1957 took him notably to Lille, Brussels and the Musée d’Antibes; the following year, he exhibited in Milan and took part in a touring exhibition in Germany. After his death, a retrospective was held at the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris in 1963, followed in 1980 by a presentation at the Centre Georges Pompidou of his works held in French public collections.
This profile brings together identity references for Jean-Michel Atlan and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Dobiaschofsky · Sotheby’s · Kornfeld · Genève Enchères · Piguet · Germann
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Jean-Michel Atlan 1913 - 1960 Untitled signed Atlan (lower left) oil on canvas 60 by 92.5 cm. 23⅝ by 36¼ in. Executed in 1956.
Catalogue period : 2023-12-05 — 2023-12-12
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : 50000 – 70000 CHF
View the lot at the auction house ↗Pastel
Composition
pastel
Catalogue period : 2022-06-16
Published result : 7500 CHF
Hammer price, excluding fees
Estimate : CHF 4000
View the lot at the auction house ↗Jean-Michel Atlan 1913 - 1960 Occident, 1958 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right; signed and titled on the stretcher 92 x 60 cm (unframed); 105.5 x 73.5 cm (framed)
Catalogue period : 2021-06-08 — 2021-06-15
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : 40000 – 60000 CHF
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
"Peinture bérbére".
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2019-11-08
Published result : 46000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 38000
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Oil on canvas
"Oubanghi".
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2018-11-09
Published result : 49000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 26000
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Pastel
Sans titre 1958 Pastel sur papier
pastel
Catalogue period : 2017-12-14
Published result : 10000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
View the lot at the auction house ↗Coloured chalk
Abstrakte Komposition.
Farbkreide
Date to be documented
Published result : 5000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 9000
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Watercolour
"Untitled"
aquarelle
Catalogue period : 2019-12-11
Published result : 15000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 6000–8000
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Oil on canvas
Homme et serpent, 1958
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on canvas
Junon, 1958
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on canvas
Danse bohémienne, 1958
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on canvas
Sans titre, 1958
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Pastellkreide.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on canvas
Phénix, 1958
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Pastel
Attribué à Jean-Michel Atlan — Personnage
pastel
attribué à
Catalogue period : 2014-06-18
Attributed to
Published result : 2600 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 3000–5000
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.
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