André Lhote (1885 - 1962) — Public Garden In Bordeaux, 1908

Public Garden in Bordeaux, 1908
Oil on coarse-weave canvas, signature stamp lower left.
45 x 61 cm

Provenance:
Private collection

Certificate of authenticity issued by Madame Dominique Bermann-Martin.

Painting modernity: the view of André Lhote

André Lhote was born in Bordeaux in 1885 into a modest family. As a young man, he joined a cabinetmaking workshop where he learned ornamental wood carving and then began taking classes at the École des Beaux-Arts in his hometown. In 1905, he decided to devote himself to painting and left the sculpture workshop, despite his parents' advice to the contrary. He was introduced to the paintings of Gauguin and Cézanne, who seemed to him to be a revelation of modernity in painting. He met Jacques Rivière (1886-1925), future director of La Nouvelle Revue Française, who became one of his close friends. From 1907, Lhote was admitted to the Salon d'Automne, in which he participated every year. He also exhibited at the Cercle de l'art moderne du Havre from 1909 and the following year, the Galerie Druet dedicated his first solo exhibition to him. Around 1912, his research, particularly inspired by primitive art and Romanesque frescoes, led him to develop a new formal approach: Cubism, which he appropriated in a rather personal conception. He exhibited in Stockholm in 1913 and then at the Galerie Vildrac in the spring of the following year. From 1917, Lhote taught painting at the Atelier libre, boulevard du Montparnasse and joined the Synthetic Cubism group. Between 1918 and 1921, he also taught at the Atelier d'Études, Boulevard Raspail, at the Académie Moderne, Rue Notre-Dame des Champs and at the Académie Montparnasse. At the end of the First World War, he began his activities as an art critic, notably with the Nouvelle Revue Française (the painter was integrated into the group of "Jeune peinture française") and took a position, in his writings and conferences, on the polemical questions concerning modern painting. In 1921, Lhote exhibited at the Rosenberg gallery. In 1925, he opened the André Lhote Academy, Rue d'Odessa, in the Montparnasse district, which welcomed students from all over the world, including Tamara de Lempicka, Hans Hartung... He taught there until the end of his life. Lhote discovered the village of Mirmande in the Drôme, which he undertook to revive. He set up his summer academy there, attracting painters and lovers of old stone. On the occasion of the International Exhibition of Arts and Technology in 1937, Lhote composed two large panels for the Palais de la Découverte: Gas and Coal Derivatives. The following year, he discovered the village of Gordes where he bought a house. He would notably welcome Chagall there during the war. After the Second World War, he settled partially in La Cadière d'Azur. He traveled to Egypt, Brazil... In the 1950s, he created a major decoration for the Faculty of Medicine in Bordeaux, published several essays and received the Grand Prix National des Arts. Numerous retrospectives were dedicated to him, including by the Musée National d'Art Moderne. The artist died in January 1962.

Discover more of this artist's works on the gallery's website: https://www.galeriepentcheff.fr/fr/peintre-andre-lhote#Oeuvres