Franz Gertsch (1930–2022)

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These two paintings depict Roma girls in the southern French pilgrimage town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Franz and Maria Gertsch travelled there in 1971 to photograph the annual pilgrimage in honour of Saint Sarah, the patron saint of the Roma and Sinti. Instead, however, Gertsch found himself captivated by a group of girls playing on the beach – almost a scene on the sidelines of the main event. He took a series of snapshots, which later became the basis for three large paintings, two of which are on display here.

In his inimitable way, Gertsch preserved these fleeting moments for posterity. The sunlight sparkling on the waves, the crystal-clear sky after a thunderstorm – it’s almost as if you can hear the sea and the breaking waves, feel the salt air on your skin and the wet sand beneath your feet. Such is the vividness with which he captured the scene. Once again, Gertsch demonstrated his mastery in painting people. Here, too, he devoted particular care to depicting the girls’ hair – one of his artistic fascinations. In the strands blowing in the wind, the full virtuosity of his painting becomes apparent.

It is also remarkable that, for the painting showing the four girls standing ankle-deep in the water, Gertsch changed his choice of support. For the first time, he painted on cotton rather than a linen-blend canvas. 

'Instead of bed sheets, I used unprimed cotton (known as cotton duck), which I discovered during a stay in New York (…). (…) instead of emulsion paint, I used acrylic polymer medium. (…) As a result, progress became much slower. The colours were not absorbed as readily as they had been by the thin linen fabric. The tightly woven cotton resisted. I had to dab or work the paint into the surface with blunted bristle brushes. That was the beginning of what I call "slow painting".'