Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Baume & Mercier has paid tribute to the work of modern art master Pierre Soulages with a Hampton timepiece inspired by his abstract work. The Baume & Mercier Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages” draws upon a series of painting Pierre Soulages created in 1979. Becoming known as Outrenoir a decade later, the surface of each painting is “coated with black paint in various states, textured into low relief with tools and brushes,” with each Outrenoir painting creating an interplay with the light, revealing its true appearance as the viewer moves around the work.
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“When the light is more intensely reflected, the black appears less black, and its surface effects become more noticeable, more active,” explained Soulages in 2007. Due to this phenomenon, Soulages’ black appears either glossy or matte depending on the conditions it’s viewed in.
With the support of the Musée Soulages in Rodez, France – Pierre Soulages’ birthplace – which houses a significant collection of the artist’s works, as well as that of the Association des Amis du Musée, Baume & Mercier approached Pierre Soulages himself about the project.
A way to acknowledge the importance of art to Baume & Mercier as a brand and show “thanks for fulfilling our souls and the passage of time, inspiring us, and thrilling us,” the Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages” spotlights Soulages work for its enduring ability to captivate, enchant, and baffle viewers. The watch draws heavily from Peinture, a painting of overlapping panels of slanted streaks that sweep horizontally and diagonally from one side of the composition to the other. Soulages incorporated cuts in the black acrylic material to produce matte and glossy effects, with Peinture created in 2019 to celebrate the artist’s 100th birthday.
Reflecting the spirit of this artwork, the Baume & Mercier Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages” takes place on the iconic Hampton silhouette, chosen for its proportions which are the same as that of the Peinture canvas. To recreate the painting in miniature, Bame & Mercier utilised 3D printing technology, playing with light and shade atop a brass dial machined with laser. Candia stone was used to create a diffuse matte effect, followed by an electroplating process to apply the black colour and semi-matte protective lacquer. On the dial, faceted brass ‘glaive’ hands are diamond-ground, sand-blasted, and coated in black PVD, before a hint of gold is applied to the end of each one. The latter touch is by request of Pierre Soulages himself, “in order to elegantly emphasise the passage of time.”
A nuanced play on the colour that isn’t really a colour, the Baume & Mercier Hampton “Hommage à Pierre Soulages” is available in a limited release of 102 pieces, reflecting the age of the artist who inspired them.
Words by Theo Rosen
