René Rodes (1896 – 1971) “view Of Bidarray” - Basque Country 1951 Oil On Panel 38x46 Cm

René RODES (Agen 1896 – Bordeaux 1971) “View of Bidarray” - September 1951 Oil on panel signed lower left, titled and dated on the back Dimensions: 38 x 46 cm René Rodes (Agen 1896 – Bordeaux 1971) received classical training up to the Baccalaureate (in Toulouse), rewarded each year by the 1st prizes in drawing. His father, who had taken courses in addition to his training as a Compagnon du Devoir, introduced him to graphic art. Motivated, he wanted to continue in this direction at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but the call to arms, in 1916, put an end to his vocation. With peace restored, he began his career in teaching and became a literature professor in Périgueux in 1921. In 1928, he became friends with Julien Saraben, a former student of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, director of the École Municipale de Dessin and curator of the Musée du Périgord. The latter completed R. Rodes' artistic training with an introduction to engraving techniques and the deepening of his drawing practice. They would be among the founding members of the Société des Beaux-Arts de Dordogne, along with their friend André Saigne among others. In the 1930s, René Rodes regularly exhibited his paintings and drawings in Périgueux, Sarlat, and Bergerac, and participated, with J. Saraben, in the Salon des Indépendants Bordelais in 1931 and 1932. In 1939, Rodes was transferred to Bordeaux, first as a literature teacher at the Collège Moderne de Garçons and then at the Ecole Normale de la Gironde. His wife was also a teacher. In 1941, he presented two oil paintings at the Salon des Sociétés artistiques de Bordeaux (which, during the war, brought together the three Bordeaux artistic groups: L'Atelier, Les Indépendants, and L'Œuvre), in the category "Exposants-libres: artists not belonging to any local group." In 1947, he was one of the guests at the annual salon of the Gironde artists' group L'Atelier. He became a member the following year, then secretary, before becoming the general secretary in 1954. In 1957, faced with the group's difficulties in finding an exhibition space, he organized the event in a large living room in his home. But it was in 1954 that he was particularly noticed since he won first prize at the exhibition devoted to the Port of Bordeaux, organized at the Galerie des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. He participated in L'Atelier's events from 1941 to 1965 while exhibiting, at the same time, at the Leyle and L'Ami des Lettres galleries. From 1948 to 1954, he attended Saturday afternoon classes at the Bordeaux School of Fine Arts (with Robert Charazac (1905-1982) and Pierre-Albert Bégaud (1901-1956), with whom he shared his enthusiasm for the Basque Country. They regularly settled in Bidarray, where they painted together and were joined by other artists such as Camille de Buzon (1885-1964), to the point that the press in 1955 referred to the "Bidarray School". His artistic activity intensified and exhibitions multiplied in Aquitaine (Périgueux, Bayonne, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Bidarray, Arcachon, Marmande, Soulac, etc.). From his meetings at the Saturday afternoon classes at the School of Fine Arts, it was with P.-A. Bégaud that he feels closest to and whose influence, along with that of R. Charazac for drawing, was very important in the evolution of his style. From the beginning of the 1950s, the use of gouache took precedence over oil painting, and drawing remained present until the end of his artistic production; he even tried using felt-tip pens from Japan at the end of the 1950s. From his paintings, where his attachment to trades and local life through landscapes dominate, a style of his own emerges, a testimony to his time and the influence of the "Bordeaux School" with which he can be associated. He remained attentive to national artistic activity and went to Paris several times a year to visit current exhibitions. He brought back reproductions of works by 19th and especially 20th century painters, which he classified and consulted regularly. In some of his paintings we find the influence of the Nabis, in particular Maurice Denis, the breath of Albert Marquet (Port of Bordeaux) or William Turner (views of the Arcachon Basin from the 1940s) but without ever completely erasing regional inspiration (J. Saraben, E. Brunet, etc.).