Malcolm de Chazal
1902–1981

"Paysage"
Lithograph
Size (without marges ): 46 x 56 cm
Size (with marges ): 51 x 60 cm
Numbered in pencil out of 125
Signed in the plate

Biography of Malcolm de Chazal
Malcolm de Chazal (1902–1981) was a Mauritian writer, painter, and thinker. Trained as an engineer, he quickly abandoned that path to devote himself to literature and art. His literary work is marked by an aphoristic, poetic, and philosophical style, exploring the mysteries of nature, language, and sensation. His most famous work, Sens-Plastique (1948), was praised by André Breton and the Surrealists for its visionary originality.

From the 1950s onward, de Chazal turned to painting. His canvases, often bursting with color, convey a vibrant perception of the world, where natural and symbolic forms intertwine. He remains a singular, unclassifiable figure—at the crossroads of poetry, philosophy, and the visual arts—considered one of the great creators of the Indian Ocean.

Description of the lithograph
This lithograph by Malcolm de Chazal depicts a stylized landscape, probably a winter or autumn scene, where the expressive power of color dominates over realism.

• Foreground: several massive tree trunks, painted in contrasting tones (deep black, violet, brown, green, beige), structure the composition and create a dynamic verticality.

• Ground: a carpet of red-orange hues, evoking either an autumn undergrowth or a symbolic transfiguration of snowy ground.

• Background: a village with red roofs, partially hidden by the trunks, stands out against a pale, almost monochrome background, suggesting snow or blinding light.

• Style: simplified forms, flat areas of bright contrasting colors, absence of classical perspective—lending the image a decorative intensity and an almost dreamlike dimension.

This work perfectly illustrates Chazal’s approach: transfiguring reality into inner visions, presenting nature not as it is, but as it is felt.