Armand Avril (lyon, 1926), The Sea And The Blue Mountains

Oil on paper. 51 × 66 cm.

Artist born in Lyon in 1926, Armand Avril drew inspiration from African art and Art Brut, embracing their freedom of expression and instinctive spontaneity. Until the mid-1960s, he devoted himself mainly to painting and drawing before moving toward assemblages made from found materials — scrap metal, bottle caps, pieces of wood or fabric — in a spirit akin to Jean Dubuffet. His painting is marked by a vigorous line and bold, unrestrained use of color.

This vibrant and luminous composition perfectly embodies his aesthetic. Before a calm sea under a bright sky, a row of sheds or houses, rendered in geometric forms of red, yellow, and green, leads the eye toward the horizon. In the distance, the undulating outline of blue mountains introduces a rhythmic counterpoint, balancing the exuberant color play of the foreground. The brushwork is free and expressive, and the palette bursts with a joyful, summery energy.

Avril captures here the instinctive delight of vision — at once naive and intensely alive. Through its vivid palette and spontaneous structure, the painting recalls the Fauvist spirit of Matisse and Manguin, reinterpreted with a raw sincerity that defines Avril’s pictorial language.