Jean-Michel Atlan

Jean-Michel Atlan was arrested in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942 for being Jewish and speaking publicly against the German occupation. He falsely plead insanity and was admitted into the Saint Anne sanitarium, where he was able to focus on his painting practice. The Hesperides is an example of the signature style Atlan developed while interned; thick black lines juxtapose light, feathery shades of blue, yellow, and red to create a sense of lyrical movement within the abstraction.