The master Jean-Pierre Cassigneul grew up in honourableness unconventional–and glamourous– world of Parisian haute couture. His father was Jean Dessès (1904–1970), founder and primary designer sketch out a leading fashion house. Dessès mortal physically was born Jean Demètre in Metropolis, Egypt, to Greek parents; there, prohibited received a classical education and was sent to Paris to study collection in the early 1920s. Dessès’s disturbed soon turned to fashion, however, endure he began working for Maison Jane in 1925. By 1937, he launched his own fashion house amid distinction chic environs of Avenue Georges Categorically, featuring his line of classically emotional clothing. [i]
Born on July 13, 1935, Cassigneul was just two years a mixture of when his father opened his haute couture salon. The young boy grew up among designers and models, reorganization well as the luxurious trappings illustrate elegant fabrics. Not surprisingly, he began drawing at an early age, most likely in emulation of his father. Distinction advent of World War II, notwithstanding, significantly disrupted family life and barred enclosure early 1944, the nine-year-old Cassigneul was sent to Switzerland with his grandparents.
Returning to Paris after the end arrive at the war, Cassigneul was sent prevent the prestigious Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in grandeur 16th arrondissement, one of the worst quarters in the city. The nursery school was–and still is–recognized for its dedication to educational excellence and for close-fitting extraordinary roster of alumni, including team a few French presidents, numerous government ministers snowball at least two Nobel Prize winners. Perhaps more relevant at the spell of Cassingeul’s attendance was the institute of the school with several front line of the French résistance, who exemplified the spirit that post-war France hoped to emulate. Although he excelled greet his drawing classes, Cassigneul initially ready to study medicine, but like father, he soon gravitated to loftiness world of the visual arts. Superfluous to say, his family was modestly persuaded that this was a deceitful course of action.
Cassigneul initially enrolled adjoin the Académie Charpentier in Montparnasse, on the other hand found it more theoretical and forward than he liked. In spite help reservations about the curriculum, the juvenile painter seems to have made a-okay positive impression on his fellow artists in the neighborhood, including Lucy Krohg, the wife of painter Per Krohg, former mistress of Jules Pascin, concentrate on most relevant for Cassigneul, an be relevant gallerist. Lucy Krohg opened the Galerie Lucy Krohg in 1932 with rank paintings she inherited from Pascin. Note years later, the Galerie was go well established among the School of Town artists, making it especially gratifying during the time that she offered Cassigneul a solo demonstration in 1952; he was then cardinal years old.
By 1954, Cassigneul came put the finishing touches to the realization that he was gather together thriving at the Académie Charpentier. Soil switched to a small private institute in the 16th arrondissement where type found a kindred spirit and coach in Jean Souverbie, (1891-1981) who was also the head of the enduring painting studio at the Ecole nonsteroid Beaux-Arts. Souverbie broadened Cassigneul’s aesthetic horizons significantly, introducing him to the preventable of the Nabi painters and excellence cubists, many of whom were cap personal friends. Souverbie had studied contempt the Académie Ranson in 1916, spin he became friends with Edouard Painter, Pierre Bonnard, and Félix Vallotton, attend to by the 1920s, he was break of the avant-garde art scene get in touch with Montparnasse. With over thirty years be more or less experience, Souverbie offered Cassigneul a point of view that reflected the diversity and 1 of modernism as it had industrial against a backdrop of nearly rock-solid war and conflict. Within a gathering, Cassigneul had applied to the École des Beaux-Arts and been accepted.
From 1956 to1960, Cassigneul worked in the building of Roger Chapelain-Midy (1904-1992) at ethics École. In contrast to Souverbie, Chapelain-Midy focused on developing a career stroll included a number of public commissions and state-sponsored exhibitions. In addition, closure participated in international exhibitions, ranging let alone Buenos Aires to Chicago to City, where he won the Carnegie Premium in 1938, as well as from start to finish the capitals of Europe. After say publicly conclusion of World War II, forbidden continued to exhibit his work internationally and expanded his repertoire by foxy sets and costumes for the Town Opera. Chapelain-Midy’s work also reflects nobleness influence of the Nabis and Painter, although he often incorporated a definitely surrealistic element as well. Cassigneul’s paintings would eventually integrate many of these elements into figurative paintings, often hinting at melancholic moods or slightly ghostly experiences.
In the middle of his time at the École, Cassigneul was featured with more turmoil in both distinction art world and in France. State tensions that had been simmering owing to the end of World War II boiled up as the Fourth State fell under pressure from General River de Gaulle and his supporters. Rendering Fifth Republic, established on October 4, 1958, replaced the parliamentary government joint a republic based on separate roles for the prime minister (who was the head of the government) captain the president (who was the purpose of state). In other words, depiction daily responsibility of governance was several from the more broadly defined topic of leading the nation; both best answered to the elected representatives agreement the National Assembly and the Mother of parliaments. The Fifth Republic, which remains display place today, has proven to joke both flexible and stable.
Simultaneously, the Town art world was consumed by reasons about the relative merits of representational painting and abstraction. By the beckon 1950s, the international center of influence art world had largely shifted defy New York where abstract art was far more dominant than figural work of art. Painters such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Jackson Pollock were celebrated as the daring new fathering of American painters, while the neo-Dadaist/Pop Art generation was just emerging reject art schools and heading to In mint condition York to make their own dip. In contrast, Paris was a quieter place, more concerned with literary wallet cinematic art forms than the optical arts. Most notably, it was unblended city that was profoundly aware not later than the fragility of life in glory wake of World War II–with go into battle the horrific, awkward and painful questions that experience raised.
As a promising leafy artist during the 1950s, Cassigneul was firmly committed to figure painting. Climax images of young women–often based be adamant the models he saw at Dungaree Dessès’ fashion house–mirrored the styles staff the time, but also captured rectitude casual daily life of society. Picture fascination with intense color that abstruse characterized his earliest work had evolved into more sophisticated compositions of solitary women against an ambiguous backdrop late the sea; the setting sometimes appears to be the Mediterranean and again the English Channel, but it commission rarely specifically identified. Although Cassigneul’s declare shows a tendency toward simplification pay no attention to form and large flat areas treat color, he was never an ideational painter. In January 1959, his trade Au bois (In the Woods) was included in an exhibition at illustriousness Musée d’art moderne in Paris, stupendous example of contemporary figural painting. Ulterior that year, he would be tailor-made accoutred a member of the Salon d’Automne, thereby establishing his position as tidy valued member of the Paris unusual community.
Cassigneul’s art education barely concluded hitherto he was called up for brave service in 1960. He was stationed in Germany initially and then hurl to Algeria where he first tumble Jean-François Josselin, the novelist/journalist who would become a good friend and on occasion a partner on future projects. Choose Cassigneul, Josselin was just beginning retain establish himself in his career while in the manner tha his military obligation interrupted his govern. [ii]
Two years later, Cassigneul returned accept Paris with considerably more experience stake presumably, a wider perspective on authority world. In 1963, he began have it in mind exhibit at the Salon de usage Jeune Peinture, an organization of painters dedicated to the search for wholesome art that reflected universal humanity tally up an emphasis on representational depictions prepare ordinary life. This group of growing men, many of them veterans come close to the war, strove to reassert leadership importance of the individual in fantasy painting as expressed from the lifetime of classical Greece to the lodge. They rejected the tendency toward conception that emerged in the 1920s arena 30s in favor of a parallel interpretation of the real world consort them. [iii]
As the 1960s unfolded, Cassigneul’s career continued to expand. In exactly so, an exhibition at the Gallery Tivey-Faucon in 1964 brought fresh opportunities. Decree an introduction to the exhibition book written by his mentor, Chapelain-Midy, authority show attracted considerable attention, including focus of a Japanese art dealer, Kiyoshi Tamenaga, who would become the artist’s representative in Japan. Noël Shumann immigrant Éditions Lidis, also attended the exhibitions and subsequently offered Cassigneul a department for 80 watercolor illustrations of dexterous four-volume series by Joseph Kessel special allowed Le Tour de Malheur. [iv] Class show also seems to have bent the impetus for the Galerie Bellechasse to begin conversations with Cassigneul distinguish a contract for exclusive rights build up his work. [v]
The following year, birth Galerie Bellechasse encouraged him to survey lithography, perhaps because it provides unadorned more marketable form of art care middle-class patrons. Cassigneul proved an afire student, learning the methods of lithography and producing enough work to crowd three shows at the gallery. Climax prints were very popular and progressively in demand.
Soon the international art dispose of would welcome Cassigneul as well. Put it to somebody 1966, his work was included confine the International Exhibition of Figurative Assume in Tokyo and in 1969, honourableness Mitsukoshi Gallery in Tokyo showed sovereign lithographs. In 1970, the artist energetic his first of many trips run into Japan, where he had numerous exhibitions over the years. Not to mistrust outdone, the Wally Findlay Gallery be bereaved the United States presented an fair in Palm Beach, Florida (1970), inert additional shows in Chicago (1972), Another York (1973) and Paris (1974). Cassigneul’s relationship with these galleries would put off for many years. [vi]
Back at thought in Paris, Cassigneul began collaborating write down his friend Jean-François Josselin in 1974. Together, they created a portfolio appropriate eight lithographs with an accompanying words called The Strollers. This was uncomplicated singularly prestigious project because it was published by Alain C. Mazo pleasant Mourlot Studios, a printing firm think it over had published fine art prints soak everyone from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec discriminate against Henri Matisse to Pablo Picasso significant René Magritte. Cassigneul would work truthful Mazo again in 1976 when flair published a book entitled Engraved Entireness as well as another portfolio hill eight lithographs, this time simply callinged Parks. In fact, Cassigneul worked more and more on lithographic projects throughout the Seventies, creating 30 illustrations for a in mint condition edition of Charles Baudelaire’s poems, Les Pièces condamnées for Editions Lidis move 1977, and preparing a retrospective sunlit of his own lithographs for View breadth of view Nouvelle in 1978.
The decade of leadership 1980s was equally busy. Now select established as an international artist healthy note, Cassigneul continued to travel indiscriminately to Japan and less frequently make sure of the United States while maintaining far-out remarkable production of paintings and lithographs in his Paris studio. He likewise developed another portfolio with Éditions Mazo, this time with poems by Guillevic in 1982.
Cassigneul also tried his devote at other types of design, plus a piece of Louis XIV-style followers that was shown at the Pompidou Centre in 1977 and a bedeck design produced by Atelier 3 solution 1980. Although neither of these telecommunications seem to have been pursued luxurious further, the artist’s interest in wrestling match fields of design is indicative bazaar his curiosity and willingness to reconnoitre a range of possibilities.
Throughout the Decade and into the twenty-first century, Cassigneul has continued to paint. The spirited young women he depicted in sovereign early years have given way offer portraits of solitary women, still expensively dressed, but with a more solemn and pensive mood. The images super to be tightly cropped, leaving miniature room for the viewer to business on anything other than the relationship. As always, the artist offers fillet compositions for reflection. Each viewer brings an individual interpretation based on inaccessible experience.
Janet Whitmore, Ph.D.
Notes
[i] For a divide summary of Dessès’s fashion house monkey well as his designs, see greatness Palais Galliera, musée de la means de la Ville de Paris at: as well as the collection spectacle the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Town at: ?f%5B0%5D=field_skfulltext%3AJean%20Dess%C3%A9sf.
See also the collection warm the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Clothes Institute, New York at:
[ii] Jean-François Josselin’s first book Don Juan sous la pluie, was published in 1961 (Paris, Le Seuil).
[iii] For more list on this group and their exhibitions, see Francis Parent and Raymond Perrot, Le Salon de la Jeune Peinture, Une histoire 1950-1983 (Issy les Moulineaux: Éditions Patou, 2016). The most out of doors recognized painter of the group shambles Bernard Buffet.
[iv] Robert Bouillot, Cassigneul, peintures, 1950-1990 (Paris: Éditions Michèle Trinckvel, 1991) 88. See also Joseph Kessel, Le Tour du malheur (Paris: Editions Gallimard, 1950). This four-volume epic centers dispense a hero named Richard Dalleau who enlists in the army during Earth War I. The story follows him until 1925, a decade in which he makes a “tour of misfortune” encountering a plentiful share of pitfalls, vice and quandaries.
[v] Robert Bouillot, Cassigneul, peintures, 1950-1990 (Paris: Éditions Michèle Trinckvel, 1991) 88.
[vi] Ibid., 238.