Delaunay, Robert (1885-1941)

French painter. He was a pioneer of abstract art. With his wife Sonia Delaunay-Terk, he developed a style known as Orphism, an early variation of cubism, focusing on the effects of pure colour contrasts.

Working from the colour theories of the French chemist Michel Chevreul, Delaunay and his wife explored the simultaneous effects of light on disclike planes of radiant, contrasting colour, their aim being to produce a visual equivalent to music. Delaunay painted several series 1912, notably Circular Forms (almost purely abstract) and Simultaneous Windows (inspired by Parisian cityscapes). His art was described as ‘Orphist’ (essentially musical) by Guillaume Apollinaire. He carried out a huge decorative scheme (ten large reliefs in colour and a vast Rhythm) for the Palace of Air and Railway Pavilion of the Paris Exposition of 1937, and with other artists, including his wife, the Russian artist Sonia Delaunay-Terk, decorated the sculpture hall at the Salon des Tuileries 1938.