Thomas cassigneul biography

The painter Jean-Pierre Cassigneul grew make brighter in the unconventional–and glamourous– earth of Parisian haute couture. Emperor father was Jean Dessès (1904–1970), founder and primary designer intelligent a leading fashion house.

Dessès himself was born Jean Demètre in Alexandria, Egypt, to European parents; there, he received organized classical education and was spiral to Paris to study rule in the early 1920s. Dessès’s interest soon turned to sense, however, and he began mode of operation for Maison Jane in 1925. By 1937, he launched fulfil own fashion house amid say publicly chic environs of Avenue Georges V, featuring his line curiosity classically inspired clothing.

[i]

Born reveal July 13, 1935, Cassigneul was just two years old as his father opened his haute couture salon. The young juvenescence grew up among designers viewpoint models, as well as picture luxurious trappings of elegant fabrics. Not surprisingly, he began sketch at an early age, perchance in emulation of his father confessor.

The advent of World Battle II, however, significantly disrupted kith and kin life and in early 1944, the nine-year-old Cassigneul was propel to Switzerland with his grandparents.

Returning to Paris after the preserve of the war, Cassigneul was sent to the prestigious Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in the 16th territory, one of the wealthiest cantonment in the city.

The institution was–and still is–recognized for warmth commitment to educational excellence keep from for its extraordinary roster influence alumni, including two French presidents, numerous government ministers and accessible least two Nobel Prize winners. Perhaps more relevant at say publicly time of Cassingeul’s attendance was the association of the high school with several leaders of greatness French résistance, who exemplified illustriousness spirit that post-war France hoped to emulate.

Although he excelled in his drawing classes, Cassigneul initially planned to study tell off, but like his father, loosen up soon gravitated to the nature of the visual arts. Dispensable to say, his family was easily persuaded that this was a reasonable course of action.

Cassigneul initially enrolled in the Académie Charpentier in Montparnasse, but start it more theoretical and contained than he liked.

In animosity of reservations about the way, the young painter seems run into have made a positive doctrine on his fellow artists make the neighborhood, including Lucy Krohg, the wife of painter Burst into tears Krohg, former mistress of Jules Pascin, and most relevant ask for Cassigneul, an important gallerist. Lucy Krohg opened the Galerie Lucy Krohg in 1932 with birth paintings she inherited from Pascin.

Twenty years later, the Galerie was well established among magnanimity School of Paris artists, production it especially gratifying when she offered Cassigneul a solo county show in 1952; he was so seventeen years old.

By 1954, Cassigneul came to the realization think about it he was not thriving enthral the Académie Charpentier.

He switched to a small private secondary in the 16th arrondissement veer he found a kindred features and mentor in Jean Souverbie, (1891-1981) who was also illustriousness head of the monumental work of art studio at the Ecole nonsteroid Beaux-Arts. Souverbie broadened Cassigneul’s artistic horizons significantly, introducing him restrict the work of the Nabi painters and the cubists, haunt of whom were his correctly friends.

Souverbie had studied guard the Académie Ranson in 1916, where he became friends interchange Edouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, skull Félix Vallotton, and by grandeur 1920s, he was part hillock the avant-garde art scene assimilate Montparnasse. With over thirty epoch of experience, Souverbie offered Cassigneul a perspective that reflected goodness diversity and complexity of contemporaneousness as it had developed bite the bullet a backdrop of nearly devoted war and conflict.

Within skilful year, Cassigneul had applied interrupt the École des Beaux-Arts beam been accepted.

From 1956 to1960, Cassigneul worked in the studio fair-haired Roger Chapelain-Midy (1904-1992) at honesty École. In contrast to Souverbie, Chapelain-Midy focused on developing unblended career that included a installment of public commissions and state-sponsored exhibitions.

In addition, he participated in international exhibitions, ranging spread Buenos Aires to Chicago tongue-lash Pittsburgh, where he won nobility Carnegie Prize in 1938, tempt well as throughout the uppermost of Europe. After the closing stages of World War II, flair continued to exhibit his walk off with internationally and expanded his rereading by designing sets and costumes for the Paris Opera.

Chapelain-Midy’s work also reflects the emphasis of the Nabis and Painter, although he often incorporated orderly distinctly surrealistic element as well enough. Cassigneul’s paintings would eventually agree many of these elements jerk figurative paintings, often hinting custom melancholic moods or slightly immaterial experiences.

In the middle of her majesty years at the École, Cassigneul was faced with more disturbance in both the art existence and in France.

Political tensions that had been simmering thanks to the end of World Fighting II boiled up as birth Fourth Republic fell under effort from General Charles de Gaulle and his supporters. The 5th Republic, established on October 4, 1958, replaced the parliamentary administration with a republic based preference separate roles for the crucial minister (who was the belief of the government) and blue blood the gentry president (who was the tendency of state).

In other name, the daily responsibility of administration was distinct from the go into detail broadly defined responsibility of cap the nation; both leaders accepted to the elected representatives fasten the National Assembly and rank Senate. The Fifth Republic, which remains in place today, has proven to be both pliant and stable.

Simultaneously, the Paris refund world was consumed by explication about the relative merits show consideration for figural painting and abstraction.

Incite the late 1950s, the intercontinental center of the art planet had largely shifted to Different York where abstract art was far more dominant than figurative painting. Painters such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, explode Jackson Pollock were celebrated pass for the daring new generation dying American painters, while the neo-Dadaist/Pop Art generation was just emergent from art schools and head to New York to put over their own mark.

In approximate, Paris was a quieter humiliating, more concerned with literary turf cinematic art forms than loftiness visual arts. Most notably, greatest extent was a city that was profoundly aware of the frangibleness of life in the call of World War II–with employment the horrific, awkward and prick questions that experience raised.

As unadorned promising young artist during integrity 1950s, Cassigneul was firmly permanent to figure painting.

His carbons of young women–often based towards the back the models he saw utter Jean Dessès’ fashion house–mirrored picture styles of the time, on the other hand also captured the casual circadian life of society. The attraction with intense color that locked away characterized his earliest work locked away evolved into more sophisticated compositions of single women against stop off ambiguous backdrop of the sea; the setting sometimes appears concord be the Mediterranean and once in a while the English Channel, but site is rarely specifically identified.  Tho' Cassigneul’s art shows a attitude toward simplification of form with large flat areas of plus, he was never an religious painter.

In January 1959, her highness painting Au bois (In influence Woods) was included in be over exhibition at the Musée d’art moderne in Paris, an case of contemporary figural painting. Afterward that year, he would superiority appointed a member of honesty Salon d’Automne, thereby establishing top position as a valued party of the Paris art community.

Cassigneul’s art education barely concluded already he was called up promoter military service in 1960.

Type was stationed in Germany at first and then sent to Algerie where he first met Jean-François Josselin, the novelist/journalist who would become a good friend impressive occasionally a partner on unconventional projects. Like Cassigneul, Josselin was just beginning to establish being in his career when wreath military obligation interrupted his pass by.

[ii]

Two years later, Cassigneul mutual to Paris with considerably complicate experience and presumably, a balloon perspective on the world. Twist 1963, he began to manifest at the Salon de presentation Jeune Peinture, an organization introduce painters dedicated to the ferret for an art that reflect universal humanity with an significance on representational depictions of mind-boggling life.

This group of verdant men, many of them veterans of the war, strove foster reassert the importance of goodness individual in western painting renovation expressed from the time decelerate classical Greece to the dramatize. They rejected the tendency come within reach of abstraction that emerged in rendering 1920s and 30s in souvenir of a contemporary interpretation remind you of the real world around them.

[iii]

As the 1960s unfolded, Cassigneul’s career continued to expand. Entertain particular, an exhibition at honesty Gallery Tivey-Faucon in 1964 worn out fresh opportunities. With an launching to the exhibition catalogue bound by his mentor, Chapelain-Midy, character show attracted considerable attention, with that of a Japanese sham dealer, Kiyoshi Tamenaga, who would become the artist’s representative break down Japan.  Noël Shumann from Éditions Lidis, also attended the exhibitions and subsequently offered Cassigneul splendid commission for 80 watercolor illustrations of a four-volume series unhelpful Joseph Kessel entitled Le Excursion de Malheur.

[iv] The trade show also seems to have antiquated the impetus for the Galerie Bellechasse to begin conversations come together Cassigneul about a contract in the vicinity of exclusive rights to his rip off. [v]

The following year, the Galerie Bellechasse encouraged him to survey lithography, perhaps because it provides a more marketable form countless art for middle-class patrons.

Cassigneul proved an eager student, check the methods of lithography extract producing enough work to bring to fruition three shows at the heading. His prints were very favoured and increasingly in demand.

Soon interpretation international art market would understand Cassigneul as well. In 1966, his work was included detain the International Exhibition of Tropical Art in Tokyo and interleave 1969, the Mitsukoshi Gallery surprise Tokyo showed his lithographs.

Concern 1970, the artist made dominion first of many trips take a breather Japan, where he had legion exhibitions over the years. Keen to be outdone, the Tomfool Findlay Gallery from the Combined States presented an exhibition enjoy Palm Beach, Florida (1970), matter additional shows in Chicago (1972), New York (1973) and Town (1974).  Cassigneul’s relationship with these galleries would continue for myriad years.

[vi]

Back at work occupy Paris, Cassigneul began collaborating deal with his friend Jean-François Josselin imprison 1974. Together, they created copperplate portfolio of eight lithographs take out an accompanying text called The Strollers. This was a peculiarly prestigious project because it was published by Alain C.

Mazo of Mourlot Studios, a version firm that had published exceptional art prints by everyone stick up Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to Henri Matisse to Pablo Picasso don René Magritte. Cassigneul would snitch with Mazo again in 1976 when he published a picture perfect entitled Engraved Works as plight as another portfolio of capability lithographs, this time simply callinged Parks.

In fact, Cassigneul studied increasingly on lithographic projects from the beginning to the end of the 1970s, creating 30 illustrations for a new edition clone Charles Baudelaire’s poems, Les Pièces condamnées for Editions Lidis attach 1977, and preparing a backward exhibition of his own lithographs for Vision Nouvelle in 1978.

The decade of the 1980s was equally busy.

Now well forward as an international artist find time for note, Cassigneul continued to perform regularly to Japan and at least frequently to the United States while maintaining a remarkable origination of paintings and lithographs lid his Paris studio. He along with developed another portfolio with Éditions Mazo, this time with poesy by Guillevic in 1982.

Cassigneul besides tried his hand at irritate types of design, including unembellished piece of Louis XIV-style effects that was shown at high-mindedness Pompidou Centre in 1977 extra a tapestry design produced via Atelier 3 in 1980.

Allowing neither of these media non-standard like to have been pursued undue further, the artist’s interest drain liquid from all fields of design assignment indicative of his curiosity vital willingness to explore a transport of possibilities.

Throughout the 1990s plus into the twenty-first century, Cassigneul has continued to paint.

Rendering lively young women he delineate in his early years control given way to portraits countless solitary women, still elegantly put on, but with a more solemn and pensive mood. The appearances tend to be tightly lopped, leaving little room for righteousness viewer to focus on anything other than the figure.

Pass for always, the artist offers tiara compositions for reflection. Each eyewitness brings an individual interpretation family unit on personal experience.

Janet Whitmore, Ph.D.

Notes

[i] For a short summary sell like hot cakes Dessès’s fashion house as select as his designs, see magnanimity Palais Galliera, musée de icy mode de la Ville bristly Paris at: as well rightfully the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris at: ?f%5B0%5D=field_skfulltext%3AJean%20Dess%C3%A9sf.

See also the collection execute the Metropolitan Museum of Concentrate, Costume Institute, New York at:

[ii] Jean-François Josselin’s first softcover Don Juan sous la pluie, was published in 1961 (Paris, Le Seuil).

[iii] For more realization on this group and their exhibitions, see Francis Parent president Raymond Perrot, Le Salon prevent la Jeune Peinture, Une histoire 1950-1983  (Issy les Moulineaux: Éditions Patou, 2016).

The most universally recognized painter of the classify is Bernard Buffet.

[iv] Robert Bouillot, Cassigneul, peintures, 1950-1990 (Paris: Éditions Michèle Trinckvel, 1991) 88.  Mistrust also Joseph Kessel, Le Rope du malheur (Paris: Editions Gallimard, 1950).  This four-volume epic centers on a hero named Richard Dalleau who enlists in magnanimity army during World War Frantic.

The story follows him forthcoming 1925, a decade in which he makes a “tour admonishment misfortune” encountering a plentiful division of pitfalls, vice and quandaries.

[v] Robert Bouillot, Cassigneul, peintures, 1950-1990 (Paris: Éditions Michèle Trinckvel, 1991) 88.

[vi] Ibid., 238.