Roger Chapelain-midy (1904-1992). The Entrance To The Port. Oil On Canvas, Signed Lower Left.

Roger Chapelain-Midy (1904-1992)
The Entrance to the Port
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
H. 54 cm - W. 65 cm
Frame: H. 58 cm - L. 69 cm

Roger Chapelain-Midy is a painter , French engraver, lithographer and illustrator born in 1904. His inspiration is strongly marked by surrealism and fantasy.

At a very young age, Chapelain-Midy acquired the foundations of his art by going to copy the great masters at the Louvre, and completed his training with lessons given at the Colarossi academy. In 1927 he made his first submission to the Salon d'Automne. At this time he received friendly advice from Charles Picard-Ledoux.

In 1930 he made his debut at the Drouant gallery. He creates advertising drawings in order to support himself. He received the Muses prize which allowed him to discover Italy. He then made numerous trips to Italy, Holland, England, Belgium and Spain. His taste for travel is inseparable from his painting and he works from the multiple discoveries he makes abroad.

In 1935 he exhibited at the Bernheim gallery. In 1937, he carried out his first decorations: Théâtre du Palais de Chaillot, Syria pavilion at the International Exhibition with Jean Picard Ledoux. He is considered to be one of the young painters from the French tradition and on whom all hopes are based. His work is characterized by a search for magic and illusion. He bases his works on mystery and wonder and this dreamlike universe will soon define him as a painter.

In 1934 the City of Paris and then the State made their first purchases from it, inaugurating a series of acquisitions which continues today. Likewise, foreign museums bought his works from 1937. His painting represents the contemporary French figurative school abroad. In 1937 he won the Carnegie Prize in Pittsburgh. In 1939, he had a private exhibition at the Montaigne gallery. An exhibition having been organized at the Amigos del Arte gallery in Buenos Aires, it is the opportunity for a long trip to Argentina, a source of inspiration. He exhibited annually at the Charpentier gallery between 1954 and 1958. He then composed numerous sets and costumes, notably for the Paris opera (Mozart's Magic Flute in 1954). He executed several wall decorations at the same time.

In 1948, invited by the Egyptian government, he taught at the Cairo School of Fine Arts, exhibiting in Cairo and Alexandria, and visited Egypt. In 1950, he exhibited at the French Art Institute in London, in 1954 at the Wildenstein Gallery in New York.

In 1961 the Sao Paulo biennial dedicated a room to him where he presented all his costume models and received the Grand Prix du Théâtre. Travel continues to punctuate his work. He participates in multiple group exhibitions in museums and galleries. A first retrospective took place at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bordeaux in 1965.

His works are today held in numerous public collections, including the Center Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Piscine de Roubaix...

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