The Water Lilies series, dated 1975, constitutes a previously undocumented body of work within GRATALOUP’s oeuvre. Its existence was revealed by the rediscovery of the original matrix used by the artist to produce his frottages.

The matrix presents a composition entirely devoted to the aquatic and plant world. Rounded, strongly veined leaves, stems and floral forms unfold across a horizontal composition in which the various elements appear to float and overlap. GRATALOUP does not seek to reproduce the landscape naturalistically: he isolates plant forms, simplifies them and reorganizes them within his own visual vocabulary.

The matrix also bears witness to the creative process developed by GRATALOUP from the beginning of the 1970s onwards. Forms are cut, incised and assembled to create a relief intended to be revealed through frottage. The matrix is therefore more than a preparatory stage: it is the physical source of a series of images that the artist could transform through color, superimposition, selection and the recombination of motifs.

The rediscovery of this matrix has also led to the identification of a small frottage belonging to the series, used by GRATALOUP to create a greeting card. Several characteristic elements of the matrix are clearly recognizable, particularly the large veined leaves and flower buds, to which the artist selectively added color. This document now provides valuable evidence of the actual use of the Water Lilies matrix.

Other frottages produced from this matrix are likely to have existed, although none have yet been identified. The different elements composing the matrix could indeed be used separately or recombined, allowing GRATALOUP to create multiple variations from the same repertoire of forms.

Dated 1975, the Water Lilies series belongs to a particularly fertile period during which GRATALOUP developed his artistic language around the matrix and frottage process while continuing his exploration of the elementary forms of nature. Here, the plant is no longer merely a motif: transformed through imprint, repetition and color, it becomes the basis for an exploration of form, matter and light.