20th-century painting - abstraction - Jacques Poncet, 1959, artist from Lyon

20th-century painting - abstraction - signed Jacques Poncet, Lyon artist, dated 1959

Dimensions: 55 cm x 46 cm (unframed)
A renowned figurative artist on the Lyon art scene, as well as nationally and internationally, Jacques Poncet (1921-2012) possessed a remarkable mastery of luminous and luxuriant beauty. Jacques Poncet was discovered in the late 1950s by the prominent Parisian gallery owner Pierre Loeb, and then in the 1960s by the Galerie des Arts, which also exhibited Fernand Léger, Manessier, Tal Coat, and Zao Wou-Ki. Numerous exhibitions in influential galleries in Lyon and Paris followed for this key figure of the Lyon School. In 2000, Paul Dini enriched his museum in Villefranche-sur-Saône with four large canvases by the artist.

In the 1950s, Jacques Poncet's painting was still abstract, reflecting the spirit of his time. But very quickly, his art became figurative. Through his five major themes, he explored his subjects over fifty years of powerful and colorful painting: the female nude, urban landscapes, trees, the sea, and self-portraits.

Nature, the sea, the sky, and the elements were a constant source of inspiration for the artist. Jacques Poncet himself wrote about this: "First, I was drawn to the landscape, but very quickly water, fire (I made many drawings from flames), then trees, and clouds interested me in themselves for their intimate rhythm. I slowly discovered the rhythmic identity of things." Critics of the time all praised the "power" and "movement" of these vibrant, luminous, and accomplished series, whose "masses of color" recalled Cézanne's style. “The landscapes (…) abandon their practical reality to give way to a torrent of force and color where the painter’s sensations are externalized, without excess (a very Lyonnais nuance),” commented critic René Déroudille in the early 1960s.

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