GARD Léon (1901-1979) "Still Life with Shells and Glassware" Paris Tulle Toulon Sea

Léon Gard (1901-1979)

"Still Life with Shells and Glassware, Paris 1971"

Oil on canvas,
Signed upper left,

Provenance: The artist's family,

A beautiful work by the painter Léon Gard depicting a still life with shells and glassware on a tabletop.
Léon Gard favored painting from nature in order to observe and faithfully reproduce every detail, even the smallest, that the eye can see, particularly the play of light on the glassware and the color of the shells.

Born in Tulle, Corrèze, the Gard family moved about ten years later to Morigny near Étampes, and then to Paris. At the age of 12, Léon Gard showed his artistic talent by creating a charcoal portrait of himself.

At 16, he copied old paintings for a play, "Petite Reine" (Little Queen). He received state encouragement and was nominated to join the Salon d'Automne the following year.

In 1922, he entered the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in the studio of the painter Ernest Laurent. However, finding the theories of his professors and the atmosphere at the school difficult to tolerate, he signed a contract with the art dealer Georges Chéron, who exhibited Soutine, Foujita, and Van Dongen.
His friend and patron, Louis Metman, director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts), then granted him a stipend so he could paint in Toulon. The economic crisis of 1931 forced the painter to find work in a painting restoration workshop, which he eventually became the owner of. At the same time, he continued to submit his works to the Salon de la Nationale and to exhibit, notably at the Galerie Charpentier and Bernheim in Paris. Through his work, he became friends with Sacha Guitry.

In 1946, Léon Gard founded the art magazine Apollo and embarked on a crusade against non-figurative painting. To escape the hustle and bustle of Paris, the artist spent several periods at the Château des Bonshommes in the Isle Adam forest, taking pleasure in depicting the Bonshommes park according to the whims of the weather and the seasons.

Léon Gard was a great colorist, striving to represent what he saw with precision in compositions where he sometimes expressed his love of precise outlines, detail, and the weight of things; at other times, in a broader style, he indulged his love of atmosphere and vibrant colors; finally, on a few occasions, he attempted to fuse these two seemingly irreconcilable approaches into a single work.

For further information about the artist, please refer to the website dedicated to the painter.

Dimensions: 54 x 65 cm unframed and 71.5 x 82.5 cm with its Montparnasse-style wooden frame.

A catalogue on the painter Léon Gard (1901-1979) and a certificate of authenticity will be provided to the buyer.

For more information, please contact us.

Ref: E5INBT1M7P