Portrait Relief PR3 (Portrait of Claude Pascal) - Yves Klein

A portrait relief of Claude Pascal by Yves Klein, featuring a figure in International Klein Blue mounted on a gold leaf panel.

This work is a portrait relief of the poet Claude Pascal, a close associate of the artist. It belongs to a series of anthropometric portraits created by Yves Klein during the final year of his life. The figure is rendered in International Klein Blue (IKB), a specific ultramarine pigment developed by the artist to achieve a particular intensity of colour. The figure is cast in plaster and coated in this pigment, then mounted against a gold leaf background. The contrast between the flat, metallic gold surface and the matte, saturated blue of the figure creates a distinct visual tension. Klein sought to move beyond traditional representation, focusing instead on the immaterial and the sensory experience of colour. By using a monochromatic blue for the human form, he removes individualistic detail, presenting the subject as a vessel for pure colour. The gold leaf background references religious iconography, specifically the use of gold in Byzantine art, which Klein admired for its spiritual connotations. This piece reflects the artist's interest in the relationship between the body and space. The relief format allows the figure to project from the surface, occupying the physical environment of the viewer. It is a study in the reduction of form to its essential components. The work avoids narrative or psychological depth, prioritising the immediate impact of the blue pigment against the reflective gold. It remains a clear example of Klein's attempt to capture the infinite through the application of his signature colour.