Lourmarin Valley By Renée Jullien 1903-1999

Oil on canvas measuring 33cm 55cm plus gilded frame 46cm x 69cm signed lower left Renée JULLIEN 1952, titled on the back "Vallée à LOURMARIN" Renée Marguerite Ernestine JULLIEN born January 14, 1903 in Paris and died March 12, 1999 in Aix en Provence Daughter of the composer Georges Maurice René JULLIEN and Marguerite GRETILLAT She entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1919 presented by the painters Louis François BILOUL and Jules ADLER She was the first woman to be distinguished during the "Priix de Rome" competition, receiving the second second Grand Prix in 1923 She married in 1929 the architect Jean-Paul HELLET-FERRET with whom she had a daughter, Claude The following year she traveled to Indochina and China thanks to a state scholarship. She then bonded with Paul JOUVE. She settled in Aix-en-Provence in 1940, the landscapes she discovered became a source of inspiration. She opened a sculpture workshop at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at the request of Marcel ARNAUD Renée JULLIEN was a complete artist, sharing her work between painting, sculpture and engraving. She wrote for the magazine "Le feu" as well as three books on Asia. A member of the Salon National des Beaux-Arts and the Société de La France d'Outremer, she won the Morocco prize in 1952 and the Equatorial Africa prize in 1954. She then traveled for 8 months in Central Africa, in Gabon, where she was received by Doctor SCHWEITZER.