"Soulages' "Peinture 116 x 89 cm, 22 mai 1958" dates from a period when the artist had truly come into his own. Here Soulages - (or the painter of black as he is often referred to) - first applied a thick tobaccobrown wash over the expanse of the canvas before applying the striking swatches of black in multiples layers. This layering of perpendicular and parallel "lines" create an almost tangible space seemingly allowing the viewer to move three dimensionally through the painting. Perhaps one of his most successful experiments of the period, "Peinture 116 x 89 cm, 22 mai 1958" is a spectacular example of the artist in the prime of his career successfully conveying both the spatial and theoretical concerns that occupied Soulages throughout his life."