Nachtvis (Night Fish) - Lucebert

A 1957 gouache work by Dutch CoBrA artist Lucebert, featuring stylised fish forms in a dark, atmospheric setting.

Lucebert, born Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, was a central figure in the Dutch post-war avant-garde. As a poet and painter, he operated within the CoBrA movement, which prioritised spontaneous expression and a rejection of traditional aesthetic constraints. This work, Nachtvis, dates from 1957, a period when his visual language had matured into a distinct form of figurative abstraction.

The composition features three fish-like forms rendered in dark, moody blues against a murky, earth-toned background. The creatures possess simplified, almost childlike features, with wide, staring eyes that suggest a sense of unease or nocturnal mystery. Above them, two floating shapes—one an orange oval and the other a rectangular form containing a pale yellow light—hover like celestial bodies or distant lanterns. The brushwork is direct and unrefined, reflecting the CoBrA philosophy of working with an immediacy that bypasses academic polish.

Lucebert often drew inspiration from folk art, children's drawings, and the raw energy of the subconscious. In this piece, the heavy outlines and muted colour palette create a sombre atmosphere. The fish appear as solitary, perhaps trapped, entities within a dark environment. The artist's signature and date, 9 IX 57, are visible in the upper right, confirming the work's provenance during his most active years. This print captures the artist's ability to balance primitive forms with a sophisticated understanding of space and mood. It is a representative example of his contribution to European modernism, where the boundary between the human psyche and the natural world is frequently blurred through distorted, expressive imagery.