Tête d’otage No. 14 (Head of a Hostage No. 14, 1944) by
Jean Fautrier
Matterism also known as Matter Painting (
French: Haute Pâte,
lit. 'thick paste') refers to a style of painting that emphasizes the material qualities of paint through heavy
impasto. The style marked a return to impulses characteristic of abstract expressionism.[1][2]
Matterism first emerged in Paris in the 1940s in the work of
Jean Dubuffet and
Jean Fautrier. The style reached widespread popularity in the 1950s.[3][4]