Although Hans Hartung became known in the 1950s as a central figure in the French abstract art movement "Art informel". The origins of his mature style actually lie in his earliest works, notably his drawings and watercolours of the 1920s and 1930s. Hartung explored the expressive possibilities of gestural abstraction over the course of his long career, often basing his paintings on his sketch-like drawings. Making use of the extensive holdings of the Fondation Hans Hartung et Anna-Eva Bergman, this volume examines the artist's development and describes the life and vision of this artist of abstraction.