Wolfgang Paalen, Fumage, 1938, Candle smoke on paper

Fumage is a surrealist art technique popularized by

Wolfgang Paalen Wolfgang Robert Paalen (July 22, 1905 in Vienna, Austria – September 24, 1959 in Taxco, Mexico) was an Austrian-Mexican painter, sculptor, and art philosopher. A member of the Abstraction-Création group from 1934 to 1935, he joined the influ ...

in which impressions are made by the

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...

of a

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...

or kerosene lamp on a piece of paper or canvas. Paalen's first Fumage ''Dictated by a Candle'' was presented 1936 in the International Surrealist Exhibition in London. In the same year Paalen painted his first oil based on the fumage, " Pays interdit" ("Forbidden Land"). Several other Surrealists as

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

, but also

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

later utilized the technique, Dali calling the technique "sfumato". The technique has been utilized by artists including Bimal Banerjee
Adam Blakemore
Alberto Burri,

Burhan Doğançay Burhan C. Doğançay (11 September 1929 – 16 January 2013) was a Turkish-American artist. Doğançay is best known for tracking walls in various cities across the world for half a century, integrating them in his artistic work. Biography ...

, Jiri Georg Dokoupil,

Hugh Parker Guiler Hugh Parker Guiler (February 15, 1898 – January 7, 1985), also known as Ian Hugo, was Anaïs Nin's husband from 1923 until her death in 1977, and a skilled engraver and filmmaker in his own right. Biography Guiler was born in Boston, Massachus ...

Yves Klein Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein w ...

, Antonio Muñiz, and Otto Piene.

In popular media

Guiler's usage of the fumage technique is depicted briefly in the 1987 film ''

Henry and June ''Henry and June: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin'' (full title ''Henry and June: From a Journal of Love: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin 1931–1932'') is a 1986 book that is based upon material excerpted from the unpublished ...

'' and his fumage pictures were often used as the covers for his wife Anaïs Nin's books.

Scholarship

Scholar

Mary Flanagan Mary Flanagan is an artist, author, educator, and designer. She pioneered the field of game research with her ideas on critical play and has written five books. She is the founding director of the research laboratory and design studio Tiltfactor ...

compared the technique to the reading of tea leaves and to the Rorschach test. José Antonio Pérez Esteban's 2013 doctoral thesis analyzes fumage art, especially "soot paintings" by Jiri Georg Dokoupil
(Link Thesis)

References

External links

Video demo of how the fumage technique works
by Antonio Muñiz Visual arts media Smoke Surrealist techniques {{Art-technique-stub

In popular media

Scholarship

See also

References

External links