French painting today

Ca p u t o (1948) Galleries, a n d i n t h e Palace of Fine Arts i n Brussels. I n 1947 he stayed a t Ostende pa i n t i ng sails a n d nets. Listed amo n g t he ma i n periods of his wo r k are: 1942-43, Maternities; 1944, Fish - Seated wome n ; 1945-46, T h e Catalan (journey in North-East Spain); 1947, T h e Port o f Ostende; 1949, Miners; 1950, Olive-trees. I n 1951 h e received a prize a t the Biennial Exhibition i n Sao-Paulo. I n 1952, exhibition i n London . Hi s work can b e defined as a search for balance between popu l a r expressionism a n d t he intellectual constructivism derived from Matisse a n d the cubist school. 88 Ostende (Ostende) 1.00 x 0.81 89 Mo t h e r a n d child 1.00 x 0.81 P L A N S O N Andre' 1947 Galerie de France in swaddling clothes (Maternité a u Lange) 1947 Galerie "Espace" Bo r n o n the 10th of April, 1898, a t L a Ferte-sous-Jouarre (Seine et Marne). His parents were wine-growers i n Champagne. T h e Ra n s o n Academy a n d the lessons of the landscapist P a u l Meslé mou l d e d his style. Planson is the painter of t he landscapes of the Ile-de-France, Provence, a n d Brittany, rejuvenating Courbet wi t h a touch o f "Fauvism." Prize of the Blumenthal Found a t i on (1932). 9 0 Springtime a t L a Ferté (Printemps a la Ferté) 0.92 x 0.73 Musée Na t i ona l d ' Ar t Moderne P R A S S I N O S Mario Bo r n o n the 30th of July, 1916, i n Constantinople. H i s father was a teacher and a p r omo t e r of the Neo-Greek literary movement. H e came t o Paris i n 1922, did his secondary studies a n d started a t the school o f Or i en t a l languages, which he left for painting. I n 1934 h e associated wi t h the surrealists, wh om h e later forsook for J e a n Lasne, P i gnon a n d Fourgeron. Exh i b i t ed his paintings a t the Billiet-Caputo Gallery (1948), his engravings at the L a H u n e Bookshop (1949). Amo n g his book illustrations let us me n t i on Bandello's, Charles Nocier's, Apolli naire's, a n d Sartre's. I n 1947 ma d e the costumes for To b i e a n d Sara, by Paul Claudel (Dramatic A r t Festival i n t he Palais des Papes a t Avignon). I f Prassinos admits t he successive influences of J e r ome de Bosche, Va n Gogh, Seurat, and naturally of Braque, Picasso o r Leger o n his paintings, h e is also greatly indebted t o abstract art, towards which h e decidedly leans. 9 1 H e r d ( T r oup e au ) 1952 1.30 x 0.97 R O G E R Suzanne Galerie de France Bo r n i n Paris i n 1899. Studied p a i n t i ng a t the Ra n s o n Academy. Between 1923 a n d 1926 exhibited a t the Simon Gallery for wh i ch she illustrated Vulcan's Cr own (Max Jacob) wi t h lithographs. I n Ma r ch t he Louise Leiris Gallery arranged a private exhibition of h e r works. 9 2 R e d foliage (Les feuillages r ou x ) 1930 Galerie Louise Leiris 1.00 x 0.81 R O U A U L T Georges Bo r n i n Paris (Belleville) o n the 27th of May, 1871, d u r i n g the Commune Government. His father, a Breton, was a cabinet-maker, a n d his mo t h e r a Parisian. H e was b o r n i n a cellar d u r i n g the b omb a r dme n t of Versailles. He first was a n apprentice t o a n artist i n stained glass. En t e r ed the School of Fine Arts wh e n 18 a n d for five years was Gustave Moreau's student, b u t failed in competition for t h e R om e Prize. I n 1898 Ro u a u l t was appo i n t ed cu r a t o r o f the Gustave Mo r e au Mu s e um o n the d e a t h o f t he founder. A friend of Le on Bloy a n d Huysmans he, like them, used to visit t he Ligugé monastery i n Poitou. For- saking academic subjects h e began p a i n t i ng noc t u r na l landscapes, a n d i n 1905, scenes inspired by the world of the circus, travelling theatre, a n d low life. In 1910 h e h e l d his first exhibition a t Druet. I n 1916 the well-known merchant, Ambroise Vollard took h i m i n his charge. O n Vollard's d e a t h h e wo n a famous case against his heirs. His engravings comprise amo n g others: Miserere et Guerre a n d reincarnations d u Pere Ubu. Ro u a u l t created a personal technique of oil painting; h e wou l d work t h r ough successive layers of p a i n t un t i l h e achieved a very strong relief, ou t l i n i ng objects a n d faces w i t h heavy black strokes which enhance the colours, as the lead frames d o for stained glass. Bu t this thick paint reveals Rouau l t ' s spiritual universe, his conception of the world, a highly dramatic conception i n which sin a n d grace face each o t he r i n a merciless struggle. H e ruthlessly sketches the weaknesses of h u m a n n a t u r e b u t i n contrast t o t he "Poètes Maudits," Baudelaire, R imb a u d , h e still retains t h e hop e of Redemption, a n d a n Apocalyptic sky illuminates his characters. I n 1952 a large retrospective exhibition of his work was h e l d a t the Na t i ona l Mu s e um of Mod e r n Art. 93 Exodus - T h e r o a d is long (Exode L a route est longue) 0.65 x 0.50 94 Tiberias (Tibériade) 1947 0.71 x 0.51 95 Passion (Passion) 0.85 x 0.65 96 T h e little sorceress (La petite magicienne) 0.85 x 0.65 S I N G I E R Gustave Private collection Private collection Private collection Private collection Bo r n o n t he 11th February, 1909, a t Wa r n e t o n (Flanders). Fa t h e r a carpenter a n d mo t h e r a weaver. I n 1918 h e we n t t o Paris where h e attended lectures on decoration a t t h e Ecole d e Boulle, from 1925 t o 1927. U p till 1936 h e worked as designer a n d decorative artist while p a i n t i ng from n a t u r e a n d a t t h e Louvre. Singier has exhibited mainly a t the Rene' D r o u i n Gallery (1946) w i t h L e Moal a n d Manessier, a t t he Billiet-Caputo Gallery, (1949-1950), a n d the Galerie de France i n 1952. Hi s tapestry L e depart des Voiliers, a t the "Mobilier National," is symptomatic of a pictorial conception wh i ch h e shares with Manessier, whereas his last exhibitions show t h a t h e is leaning towards abstract art. 97 Bullfight (Tauromachie) 1948 1.62 x 1.30 SOULAGES Pierre Galerie d e France Bo r n o n t he 24th December, 1919, a t Rodez (Aveyron). Secondary studies a t the Lycée i n t h a t city. H e devoted his spare time t o painting. Interested i n Roman a r t a n d i n excavating dolmens i n t h a t region. I n 1928, after a try a t t h e Ecole des Beaux-Arts, h e decided t o work alone. Du r i n g the wa r h e worked o n t h e land so as t o avoid compulsory service i n Germany. I n 1947 he settled permanently i n Paris. Hi s painting, removed from visible reality, has become abstract. Since 1947 Soulages has participated i n nume r ou s collective exhibitions i n France and abroad, particularly i n 1951 a t t h e travelling exhibition organised for the [ 3 0 ] [3']