Background
Jean Fautrier was born on May 16, 1898 in Paris, France.
illustrator painter printmaker sculptor
Jean Fautrier was born on May 16, 1898 in Paris, France.
In 1912 Jean entered the Royal Academy of Arts. The artist was unsatisfied by instruction there and soon left the academy and enrolled in the Slade School (now Slade School of Fine Art). But Fautrier was disappointed again and decided to study painting himself.
Jean Fautrier began to serve in the French Army in 1917, but four years later, in 1921, he was discharged due to his poor health.
The painter's first exhibitions took place at the Salon d'Automne in 1922 and at the Fabre Gallery in 1923. The same year, in 1923, Jean started to produce etchings and engravings. The following year, in 1924, Fautrier's first solo exhibition was held at the Galerie Visconti in Paris.
In 1927, he painted a series of pictures (still lifes, nudes and landscapes), in which black dominates. Until 1933, the painter also created sculptures, besides paintings.
During a short period from 1934 to 1936, the painter was living in the resort of Tignes, where he used to make a living, being a ski instructor and also opened a jazz club.
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Jean Fautrier moved to Marseille and one year later, in 1940, he settled down in Paris and started painting again. There, in France, he met many poets and writers, for whom he created illustrations.
Jean was arrested by the German Gestapo at the beginning of 1943. After short imprisonment, he left Paris and settled down in Châtenay-Malabry, where he started to work on the project of the Otages (or "Hostages").
Fautrier also worked on the illustrations of several works, including "L'Alleluiah", written by Georges Bataille.
The painter's works were exhibited in such countries, as Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Sweden and France.
Le grand sanglier noir
Petit nu noir
Carré de couleurs
Nature morte aux oignons
Bouquet
Nature morte aux poires
Tête de profil
Fleures noires
Le lilas blanc
Petite boîte carée
Nus oradour
Untitled
Nu feminin allongé
Artichaut
Fruit
Untitled
Angles des couleurs
Dépouille
Le Maquis
Terre D'Espagne
Abstraction
Hostages Black Ground
Circle line
Monsieur Tarabuste
Nu couché
It’s How You Feel
Otage
La Juive
Composition
Tête d’otage No. 14 (Head of a Hostage No. 14)
Composition
Nu noir
Green Seas
Composition
Oradour-sur-Glane
Visage violet
Composition
Composition
Reclining Woman IV
During World War II, Jean was an active member of the Resistance.
Quotations:
"Painting is something that cannot be destroyed, it must destroy itself to reinvent itself."
"No piece of art can depict feelings if a piece of reality is not included in it."