About Auguste Herbin
French · 1882–1960 · abstraction, Cubism, Fauvism
moving from Cubism to a geometric alphabet of colour and form, painted with his left hand after paralysis took his right
Auguste Herbin's works are held in 40 museums worldwide, including Kröller-Müller Museum, Matisse museum, and Musée d'art moderne de Paris.
🇧🇪 Belgium
2 museums
- 2 works
Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst
Citadelpark, Belgium
- 1 works
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
🇨🇦 Canada
1 museum
- 1 works
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Plains of Abraham, Canada
🇫🇮 Finland
1 museum
- 1 works
Finnish National Gallery
Helsinki, Finland
Also here
🇫🇷 France
9 museums
- 17 works
Matisse museum
Palais Fénelon (Le Cateau-Cambrésis), France
Also here - 8 works
Musée d'art moderne de Paris
Musée d’Art Moderne, France
Also here - 3 works
Musée National d'Art Moderne
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
- 2 works
Museum of Grenoble
Grenoble, France
- 2 works
Nantes Museum of Arts
Richebourg-Saint-Clément, France
- 2 works
Musée d'art moderne (Saint-Étienne)
Saint-Étienne, France
- 1 works
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen
Castle of Caen, France
- 1 works
Centre national des arts plastiques
Paris, France
- 1 works
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
🇩🇪 Germany
6 museums
- 3 works
Museum Ludwig
Gebäudekomplex der Kölner Philharmonie und des Museum Ludwig, Germany
- 2 works
Impressionism: The Hasso Plattner Collection
Potsdam, Germany
- 1 works
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Hamburg-Altstadt, Germany
- 1 works
Kunsthalle Mannheim
Mannheim, Germany
- 1 works
Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History
Münster, Germany
- 1 works
Museum Barberini
Potsdam, Germany
🇯🇵 Japan
1 museum
- 1 works
National Museum of Western Art
Ueno-kōen, Japan
🇳🇱 Netherlands
5 museums
- 26 works
Kröller-Müller Museum
Otterlo, Netherlands
- 4 works
Centraal Museum
Utrecht, Netherlands
Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00; closed Mon€15 adultsUtrecht Centraal (Bus 1, 2 (no metro))Confirm on museum website before visiting. - 3 works
Museum de Fundatie
Heino, Netherlands
- 1 works
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1 works
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen - Robbrecht & Daem wing, Netherlands
Main building closed for renovation until 2029; Depot open Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00Depot €20 adultsEendrachtsplein (Tram 7, 8)Confirm on museum website before visiting.
🇷🇺 Russia
1 museum
- 3 works
Hermitage Museum
Winter Palace, Russia
Tue, Thu, Sat–Sun 10:30–18:00; Wed, Fri 10:30–21:00; closed Mon500 RUB adults (Russian residents), 1000 RUB internationalAdmiralteyskaya (5 (Frunzensko-Primorskaya))Confirm on museum website before visiting.
🇪🇸 Spain
1 museum
- 1 works
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Palace of Villahermosa, Spain
🇸🇪 Sweden
1 museum
- 1 works
Moderna Museet
Skeppsholmen, Sweden
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
2 museums
- 1 works
Tate
Tate Britain, United Kingdom
Daily 10:00–18:00Free (permanent collection)Pimlico (Britain) / Southwark (Modern) (Victoria / Jubilee)Confirm on museum website before visiting. - 1 works
National Galleries Scotland
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
10 museums
- 4 works
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, United States
Sun–Tue, Thu 10:00–17:00; Fri–Sat 10:00–21:00; closed WedAdults $30, students $17 (pay-what-you-wish for NY residents)86 St (4, 5, 6)Confirm on museum website before visiting. - 3 works
Museum of Modern Art
Midtown Manhattan, United States
Daily 10:30–17:30 (Sat until 19:00; first Fri of month until 20:00)Adults $30, students $17Fifth Av / 53 St (E, M)Confirm on museum website before visiting. - 2 works
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, United States
- 2 works
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
- 1 works
Detroit Institute of Arts
Midtown Detroit, United States
- 1 works
Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery Swartwout Building, United States
Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 13:00–17:00; closed MonFreeNew Haven Union Station (Metro-North New Haven Line)Confirm on museum website before visiting. - 1 works
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Boston, United States
- 1 works
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis, United States
- 1 works
Norton Simon Museum
Pasadena, United States
- 1 works
Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Buffalo, United States
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall was Auguste Herbin?
Auguste Herbin was of short stature. During the First World War, this meant he was exempt from military service and assigned to an aeroplane factory near Paris.Who was Auguste Herbin?
Auguste Herbin was a French artist who moved through Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism before arriving at a geometric abstraction that bordered on language. He co-founded Abstraction-Creation, an international group promoting non-figurative art, and later helped establish the Salon des Realites Nouvelles. Herbin was also politically active, writing against fascism and joining the Communist Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists.What was Auguste Herbin's art style?
Herbin's art style evolved throughout his career, beginning with Impressionism and Post-Impressionism before transitioning to Fauvism. He then explored Cubism, followed by pure abstraction. His later work was a systematic geometric abstraction that bordered on language.What is Auguste Herbin known for?
Herbin is most recognised for developing the "alphabet plastique" in 1942, a systematic language of geometric forms and colours. He mapped letters and musical sounds onto triangles, circles, and rectangles, creating compositions that could theoretically be read as well as seen. This system drew on Goethe's Theory of Colours and Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy.