Belgian by birth but of French nationality, Michaux worked in the fields of painting, design and poetry. He studied at the Jesuit school in Brussels (1911-14) and, in 1919, began a medicine course which he soon gave up. In 1922, he began writing and, in 1924, he went to Paris where he was fascinated by the works of Klee, Ernst and De Chirico presented in a Surrealist exhibition. In the following year, he began to concentrate on painting and, between 1927 and 1937, he travelled to various countries which had a strong influence on his later work. In 1937, he had his first one-man show at the Librairie-Galerie de la Pléiade and, during the Second World War published various books which he also illustrated. In 1959 and 1964, he took part in Documenta 2 and 3, in Kassel. After 1967, he introduced more colour in his works through the use of acrylic paint and, during the 70s, his style remained essentially spontaneous and abstract. Michaux's drawing and painting was close to Surrealism. Nonetheless, his compositions in the 50s were greatly influenced by Tachisme.
