"He became famous in the 1970s for what he called his 'dé-finition/méthode' paintings, which were in fact sets of instructions for making a painting."

"One of his signature 'protocols,' as they were also called, was to paint a canvas the same color as the wall on which it would hang. He did not do this himself; rather, he enlisted a 'charge-taker' — an art collector, museum representative or independent curator — to make the work according to his specifications.... Mr. Rutault’s wryly iconoclastic process represented a break from the past, subverting the basic notion that painters are people who paint. Instead of making paintings, he wrote texts; yet his work was both collaborative and potentially open-ended. His 'protocol' could be painted and repainted, as the charge-taker saw fit. As a result, he said, 'The painting is never finished.'... 'He’s one of the only artists who won’t see what his work looks like in the future, and it will still be his work.'... 'Claude called himself a painter.... Everyone else called him a conceptual artist. It’s true that he did not touch paint or canvasses, but instead he wrote paintings.'"

From "Claude Rutault, Master of the Painted Word, Is Dead at 80/His paintings were actually instructions for making paintings. One of his signature 'protocols' was to paint a canvas the same color as the wall on which it would hang" (NYT).