The Estate of Gérard Schneider
By 1945, Schneider had established himself as an abstract painter "excluding unnecessary external elements." He wanted his abstract forms to be expressive and dramatic.
1947 was a pivotal year for Schneider. Between April 25 and May 17, he exhibited thirteen works in Lydia Conti's gallery, including "Opus 314". He also signed a contract with her, which enabled him to leave his job as an art restorer and focus on his own painting.
On April 30, 1947, Charles Estienne wrote in "Combat": “At Galerie Lydia Conti, Schneider tackled the most difficult problem of all: expressing everything in abstract form within the two dimensions of the flat surface. Today, he is in full control of his means of expression; sometimes he seems romantic, relying more on his graphic style and line, with its bright splashes of color, to express himself lyrically, and sometimes he seems more classical, removing all unnecessary space in the tight interplay of forms. But his art always has a necessary and sufficient inner content, and the colorful harmony that finally encapsulates his work has a richness without emphasis and a certainty that you'd have to be blind to deny. A fine lesson that I would recommend to many young painters.”
- Gérard Schneider, 17 October - 17 December 2022, Perrotin Paris, France
- Schneider, 1947, Galerie Lydia Conti, Paris, France