The House (1958) Maurice Gourdon - French School, Mid-20th Century

Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, signed lower left and dated 1958. Signature to be deciphered. Maurice Gourdon was a painter who excelled in pastel portraits. A rich personality, he was also a storyteller, actor, author of children's plays and a man of great faith. A friend to a host of local artists, it was he who took the initiative of bringing them together, and creating the association and its Salon. Many parishioners of Saint Pierre de Montrouge still remember Maurice Gourdon, the parish priest. He was an established painter until the last years of his life. He was the founding president of the “Peintres et Sculpteurs Témoins du 14ème” society, whose theme was “The art of the 14th century”. Let's briefly retrace the stages of his life. He was of Angevin origin, and went to school in Laval, where he always came first in drawing, and often outranked in college competitions. He took a few courses at the school of the painter Jean Verdier, nephew of the cardinal, but it was during his captivity in Germany during the Second World War that he developed his pastel skills by meeting a Beaux Arts teacher. On his return to France, he founded a society of painters called “Art et Amitié”. Always painting from the motif, he reserved pastel for portraits, his specialty. A member of the Salon des Artistes français and the Salon des Indépendants, his style remained faithful to the essential canons of Impressionism. He won several medals, including a silver medal as a member of the Salon des Paysagistes Français.