Jacques Hallez - Still Life With Two Baskets, 1979

Oil on canvas depicting a still life enlivened by baskets of fruit and a bottle of red wine. Signed lower left "HALLEZ". Dated and titled on the back. Original canvas and frame, none repainted.

Canvas dimensions: 65 cm x 54 cm

Jacques Hallez, born April 2, 1923 in Deneuvre (near Baccarat) and died in January 2021, is a renowned French painter and engraver. Grandson of the painter Joseph Emile Gridel, he studied at the Beaux-Arts in Nancy, where he learned engraving with André Vahl. Mobilized during the Second World War, he participated in the Alsace and German campaigns. In 1945, he married the sculptor Colette Barbazanges and settled in Baccarat, where he worked in painting, engraving, textiles and ceramics. From 1948 to 1951, he frequented Paris and the studio of André Lhote. His first exhibition took place in 1951 at the Galerie Sagot-Le Garrec. That same year, he became a professor of engraving at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, a position he held until 1973. He then returned to Lorraine to teach at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. A versatile artist, he also explored stained glass and mosaics and illustrated several literary works. His work expresses power, elegance, and sensitivity. In 1957, he received the Prix Galilée from the Académie de Stanislas. He has been a member of the Société des peintres-graveurs français since 1964. His works are featured in numerous museums in France and abroad.