Cezannian Colourist Masterpiece: Mediterranean Village Bathed in Light: French Cubist Oil on Canvas

A rare, subdued music springs from his canvases, a music found only among today's greatest masters of colour (...)"

writes Bernard Dorival, France's foremost art historian, about artist Jean Marzelle (1916-2005). Marzelle was without any doubt a great and subtle colourist. Born in Lauzun in the South West of France, he fervently studied and copied the works of the Masters from an early age to make sense of composition. As Marzelle said himself "The art of painting must be learned like a language - but with the difference that it is more a matter of understanding than learning."

The fruit of his understanding is an elegant, virtuoso juxtaposition of shades. Building on Fauvist colour and Cubist architecture, his work is modernist and timeless.

Having studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier with Camille Descossy (by who we also hold a painting!), he moved to Paris and enrolled at École des Beaux-Arts. In the 1940s, he participated in the exhibition, Maîtres et Jeunes at Galerie Berri-Raspail, and submitted work for the first time to the Salon d'Automne. The work he exhibited was mentioned in a review by Gaston Diehl. In 1943, Galerie Pittoresque, run by Simone Camin (the future Mrs André Lhote) organised a first solo exhibition of his work. In 1945, the Galerie Denise René invited him to exhibit alongside Burtin, Dayez and Eskenazi as part of a show entitled "Histoire d'un tableau". He was awarded the Prix Bernheim at the Salon d'Automne and participated for the first time at the Salon de Mai, exhibiting there until 1978.

Marzelle's work was shown Menton Biennale and the Galerie Charpentier in Paris, with further group exhibitions in New York and Mexico City. The Musée de l'Athénée in Geneva showed forty of his canvasses, and his solo shows in prestigious French galeries are almost too many to list. Internationally, he had solo shows at Vasastadens Konstalong in Gothenburg in 1973, 1975 and 1977; at the Galerie Saint-Michel, Luxembourg in 1974; at the Galerie Marcos Castillos, Caracas in 1976 and the Galerie Lutetia, Königstein.

Marzelle was made a knight of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1958.

Paintings by the artist are in numerous museums, including the Musée National d'Art Moderne/Pompidou Centre in Paris. Marzelle's painting in the MUMA Museum in le Havre is particularly interesting to see, as the artist used a similar palette of colours as in our work. I am adding a photo of this artwork for reference.

The oil on canvas by Marzelle presented here is a subtly Cezannian and mysterious view of a Provencal village bathed in light, with a backdrop of cool mountains and lush warm greenery in the foreground. Measuring 46 x 55 cm, the artwork is signed and dated 1965 at the lower right. The overall framed size in an elegant antique frame with minor wear is 58 x 67 cm

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.