Background
Armand Henrion was born on May 30, 1875 in Liege, Belgium.
painter draughtsman POSTER DESIGNER
Armand Henrion was born on May 30, 1875 in Liege, Belgium.
Armand Henrion showed his work in Belgian salons and eventually moved to Paris, where he participated in many of the French Salons and became a naturalized citizen of France.
He is considered a figure and portrait painter from the French School. Besides, the vast majority of his clowns are self-portraits but he also painted Pierrot, a stock character of mime and Commedia dell'Arte, which was the French equivalent of the Italian Pedrolino.
During his lifetime, Henrion found an enthusiastic patron and supporter in Leon Gerard, a Parisian gallerist.
Armand Henrion died in 1958 at the age of eighty-three.
Armand Henrion was best known for his Pierrot portraits and self-portraits as a clown in the Realist, Impressionist and Expressionist style. He became know for his small portraits which captured the facial expressions of clowns laughing, singing, smoking (pipes and cigarettes) and other mime reactions.
Currently, Henrion's paintings are much sought-after by museums and private collectors alike, both in his adopted France and abroad.
Henrion had an all-consuming fascination with the character of Pierrot. Henrion portrayed himself as this comic trickster, who traditionally did not wear a mask, but instead applied heavy white face make-up. Henrion explored nuances of humor in his works which encompass the facial expressions conveying such qualities as the tongue-in-cheek, the retort, the comeback, the riposte, and the droll comment. His animated, gestural style in the creation of the small, jewel-like, depictions matches the feelings they convey of a light-hearted sense that life is to be enjoyed.
