When Art Meets Horology

Baume & Mercier pays tribute to one of the great masters of modern art with an exclusive timepiece dubbed the Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages”

- Richard Augustin

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION MEETS HAUTE HOROLOGY in Baume & Mercier’s tribute to artist Pierre Soulages. The Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages”, is an exclusive and limited timepiece by Baume & Mercier that pays homage to one of the true great masters of modern art. For this unique take, the House takes inspiration from the artist’s work as a whole to produce a unique and original timepiece befitting the artist’s credentials.

A Homage To Modern Art

In January 1979, the major abstract artist Pierre Soulages inaugurated a series of works at his Parisian workshop which he called Noir-Lumière. In 1989, the series became known as Outrenoir. The surface of each painting is coated with black paint in various states, textured into low relief with tools and brushes.

Each Outrenoir painting plays on with the light that reveals its appearance to the viewer, particularly as the person moves. “When the light is more intensely reflected, the black appears less black, and its surface effects become more noticeable, more active,” asserted Soulages in 2007. Soulages’ black successively appears glossy or matte.

Now with the support from Musée Soulages and the Association des Amis du Musée, watchmaker Baume & Mercier approached Pierre Soulages with the project for a unique watch paying tribute to his work.

Liberally taking inspiration from an Outrenoir painting by Pierre Soulages, the watchmaker has turned the painting into a watch creation. One work in particular guided the experiment, the exceedingly elevated Peinture 390 x 130 cm 17 mars 2019.