Nicolas de Staël

Was Nicolas de Staël the missing link in a long story which began with the mosaics of Ravenna and finished with the abstract paintings of the 50s ? Guy Dumur, man of letters, actor and drama critic, analyses the works of Staël in light of his short life. The artist committed suicide at the age of forty-one at the height of his success, painting no longer able to satisfy his existential questionings. The friendship between the author and Staël is illustrated by means of letters from the painter of which the last comes just before his suicide.