Despierre, Bathers, circa 1970, wash and watercolor

Jacques Despierre (1912-1995)
Bathers, circa 1970
Wash and watercolor on two sheets of paper
Signed lower right
19.5 x 14.5 cm each sheet
Provenance: artist's studio

Jacques Despierre (1912-1995)

Son of the painter Edmond Ceria, Jacques Despierre was introduced to painting at a very young age. He began his studies at the Académie Colarossi, then at the Académie Scandinave, where he studied under Charles Dufresne, who emphasized the importance of structured composition in painting. Despierre entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1929, studying in the studio of Lucien Simon. At the Louvre, he admired Chardin, Corot, and Delacroix. At his father's request, Despierre simultaneously began learning engraving and illustrated his first book in 1930.

His friendships with Gruber, Tailleux, Tal Coat, Lasne, Brayer, Humblot, and Rohner fostered a spirit of emulation. In galleries, Despierre discovered Picasso, Bonnard, and Matisse, and later met Jacques Villon, Charles Despiau, and Marcel Gromaire, whom he admired. Thanks to the architect Jean-Charles Moreux, he discovered that "the surface is both a concrete and abstract phenomenon," a subject he explored further through the writings of Mattila Ghycka.

His first exhibition was held at Jeanne Castel's gallery in 1938, the same year he won the Paul Guillaume Prize. During and after the war, he created decorative art pieces: painted furniture and tapestries for Jacques Adnet, frescoes for the Faculty of Pharmacy in Paris, and later for the ocean liners La Marseillaise and Ile de France, among others. He worked for numerous public institutions throughout his career.

Despierre exhibited regularly at the Galerie Charpentier, the Galerie de l’Elysée, and later at the galleries of René Drouet and Marcel Guiot. Critical acclaim was lauded: Waldemar Georges, George Besson, Pierre Cabanne, and Jean Bouret praised his work. In 1969, Despierre was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and the following year, the Galerie de Paris dedicated an exhibition to his work, featuring views of the Loire River, Greek gardens, and paintings of bathers. Seven years later, the Wildenstein Gallery exhibited a collection of Greek landscapes and paintings of horses. Tributes were paid to him as early as 1973 at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) and then in Saint-Étienne. A regular exhibitor at many Salons, Despierre was a founding member of the Salon de Mai, which bears his name.

Like Renaissance artists, Despierre enjoyed exploring all techniques: he created murals and mosaics, illustrated books, designed carpet and tapestry cartoons for the Mobilier National (National Furniture Collection) and vase decorations for Sèvres porcelain, produced the stained-glass windows for Notre-Dame de Liesse, and created 80 medals for the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint). Popular with young people and a natural teacher, Despierre succeeded Gromaire as head of the mural art workshop at the École des Arts Décoratifs (School of Decorative Arts), where he introduced the teaching of fresco and mosaic techniques.

His works are notably held in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (Paris Museum of Modern Art), the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans (Orléans Museum of Fine Arts), the Musée de Grenoble (Grenoble Museum), the Mobilier National (National Furniture Collection), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Ref: XZ01ESQOFS