French Antique Surrealist Jean-claude Fourneau Circle of André Breton Dated 1932 Rare Fine Ink Drawings (2) in One Frame

Jean-Claude Fourneau (1907 – 1981) was a French painter close to the surrealist movement.

Draughtsman and painter imbued with classicism and surrealism, Jean-Claude Fourneau was first noticed at his show at the Jeanne Castel Gallery by André Salmon in 1932.

He appears on a photograph of surrealist artists gathered at the Café Cyrano, and André Breton mentions him as being part of the group. André Breton was a great influence on Fourneau, for whom he had a lot of affection, and confirmed the influence of surrealism in its literary and artistic form in his work.

Claude Roger-Marx sees Fourneau's use of drawing as a medium and appreciates their detail: "The detail in Jean-Claude Fourneau's drawings gives us a sense of the infinite (...) Fascinating in the power and sensitivity that every stroke of his brush conveys." The critic quotes the artist himself: "I cannot conceive of a man painting who has no culture. I do not distinguish between painting and poetry, they both strive towards the same goal."[

Fourneau specialises in portraits and his reputation grows. In 1963 the critic François Pluchart announces: "The Parisian fashion and intellectual circle has found its painter".

A show in Casablanca in 1954 brings fame in Morocco, where Fourneau lived for several years. He paints the portraits of Lalla Malika, the sister of King Hassan II, of Lalla Lamia, his step sister, of Karim Lamrani, his prime minister and other members of the Moroccan Royal Court.

Yet as Claude Rivière states, Fourneau is the opposite of being a fashionable painter: "A great admirer of Antonin Artaud, of Paulhan, of Aragon, the artist calls upon his understanding of his model and goes beyond just a formal expression to impose his point of view."

Fourneau's art is elegant and timeless, as the two very fine ink drawings in a same frame here presented illustrate well. Both monogrammed and dated 1932, they measure 15,5 x 10 cm and 13,5 x 10 cm respectively.

Their provenance is with the Galerie Cardo, a well reputed Parisian Gallery which was situated in the 16th arrondissement between the Trocadero and the Arc de Triomphe. The overall framed size is 42,5 x 20 cm.

There is some minor damage to the wood of the frame, but given that is is the original framing and charming I have left it as is.

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.