Maurice Perrenoud, Hypnose d'une Ombre, Oil on Board Abstract Painting, 1960s

Attributed to Swiss painter and sculptor Maurice Perrenoud, Hypnose d’une Ombre is a work from the 1960s that unfolds through subtle shifts in tone, texture, and gesture.

Executed in oil on board, fields of deep black and muted charcoal are interrupted bypassages of olive green and chalk-like white, suggesting presence without resolving into a fixed form. Layered brushwork and varied opacity reveal the rhythm of the artist’s hand, while a single vertical line introduces a quiet moment of tension within the composition.

Encased in a black walnut frame, the work balances weight with restraint. Rather than declaring itself, it invites prolonged observation, as light reveals new relationships across its textured surface. A painting that rewards contemplation, chosen not simply to occupy a wall, but to shape the atmosphere around it.

Placed within a space, Hypnose d’une Ombre offers a quiet intensity. It does not dominate, but it holds attention, drawing the viewer inward through nuance, shadow, and the lingering trace of gesture.

Maurice Perrenoud (1914–2007) was a Swiss painter and sculptor whose career was shaped by a lifelong exploration of how little an artist could say while still capturing the essence of the natural world. Working across painting and sculpture, he spent decades distilling landscapes, stones, seeds, and organic forms into their most elemental shapes. Rather than imitate nature, Perrenoud sought to reveal its underlying structure, reducing complexity into quiet, balanced compositions that feel both timeless and distinctly modern.

Whether carving stone, casting bronze, or creating abstract paintings, Perrenoud approached every medium as part of the same artistic dialogue. His sculptures possess the enduring presence of ancient artifacts, while their flowing silhouettes evoke growth, movement, and transformation. His paintings echo these ideas through rhythmic line, textured surfaces, and restrained color, reflecting an artist devoted to the emotional power of form over representation. Choosing a path largely outside the spotlight, Perrenoud developed a remarkably consistent body of work that continues to resonate with collectors of twentieth-century European modernism, demonstrating that the simplest forms can often express the deepest sense of humanity.