Soulages is a painter; graphic artist; and stage set decorator and one of the master abstract print makers of the 20th Century . His work is highly individual. In both his etchings and lithographs he obtains the subtlest shadings and tonings from large, shaped plates and richly inked stones and the prints have a tactile quality. In 2009 he was honoured with an exhibition of 100 works at the Pompidou Centre in Paris