At the beginning of 1979, Pierre Soulages developed his outrenoirs. Both a rupture from and the culmination of his previous work, the artist’s practice evolved constantly. Considering art as a question that needs to be continually reformulated, Soulages now devoted himself exclusively to applying black pigment across the whole surface of the canvas, using various tools he developed himself. The black that Soulages used becomes the subject of variations in light. Without altering the background of his composition or the colours that pierce his black lines, the artist draws broad stripes across the flat areas of paint. This produces a form of opposition thanks to the different ways of treating the material, between opacity and transformation of the black into light.