Drawing by Camille ROCHE

ROCHE Camille (1894-1948)
Lion
Three pencils on paper (minor pinholes and stains)
25 x 27.5 cm (visible)

Provenance: former Camille Roche collection, since retained in the family.

Born in Paris, Camille ROCHE (1894-1948) was the son of Odilon Roche, artist and art dealer. From childhood, he demonstrated a great talent for painting and drawing. In 1905, at the age of only 11, he exhibited two works at the Salon d'Automne. In 1912, he traveled to Italy to La Mortola and then to Tunisia with Léon Detroy, from where he brought back numerous drawings. In 1913, he received his first commissions for decoration, notably for Colette's apartment and then for Coco Chanel's in 1917.

Conscripted into the army in 1914, he was seriously wounded in combat and demobilized in 1916. After the war, he began a collaboration with the Manufacture de Sèvres that lasted for many years, notably during the two International Exhibitions of 1925 and 1937, for which he created "Le Paradis terrestre" and "Le Boudoir de Serge et Camille Roche."

In 1920, he was a laureate of the first class of the "Fondation américain pour la pensée et l'art français," also known as the "Florence Blumenthal Foundation."

Then, in the 1930s, he collaborated with his brother Serge Roche, one of the greatest decorators of the time. He designed most of the decor for his mansion on Rue Las Cases and contributed to the decoration of most of the commissions Serge Roche received at the time. For this purpose, he created, among other things, sumptuous screens with gold and silver backgrounds. In 1938, he executed a large-scale design for the villa of Lord and Lady Cholmondeley, chamberlains to the Queen of England, in Juan-les-Pins.

He is also renowned for his drawings of nudes, landscapes, and animals. During his lifetime, several solo exhibitions were dedicated to him, at the Galerie Devambez in 1924 and at the Galerie Vincent in 1930. During his career, Camille ROCHE also regularly participated in the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and the Salon of the Société des Artistes Animaliers.

Ref: IRYM5H6SJ6