Henry Malfroy (1895 - 1944) — Les Martigues

Les Martigues
Oil on canvas signed Savigny lower right
62 x 92 cm

Henry Malfroy: a brush in the storm

Henry Malfroy, whose full name is Charles Henri Malfroy, is a French painter born on January 15, 1895 in Martigues, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. Coming from a family of artists, he is the son of the painter Charles Malfroy, whose influence is reflected in his early works. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he developed a personal style while remaining close to the Impressionist aesthetic. His work is distinguished by a great sensitivity to light, particularly that of the Mediterranean landscapes he loved. He vividly painted the ports of southern France, the seaside of the Var and Bouches-du-Rhône, but also urban views of Paris and scenes of the Seine, combining rigor of drawing and freedom of touch. Malfroy actively participated in Parisian artistic life in the 1920s and 1930s. He exhibited in particular at the Salons des Artistes Français and des Indépendants. In 1928, his work was presented as part of the art competitions at the Amsterdam Olympic Games, a now little-known initiative that linked art and sport in the humanist ideal of the Olympic movement of the time. He sometimes signed his paintings under the pseudonym “Savigny”, which has contributed to some confusion in the attribution of some of his works, especially since his style is sometimes close to that of his father. His life took a tragic turn with the German Occupation. A committed resistance fighter, Henry Malfroy was arrested by the Nazi authorities and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp, where he died on April 27, 1945, just days before the camp's liberation. He is now recognized not only for the quality of his pictorial work, but also for his patriotic commitment. Posthumously, he was awarded the Order of Liberation, one of France's highest distinctions, honoring his sacrifice in the service of freedom. His entire body of work, marked by the light of the South and the tragedy of his time, bears witness to an artist's life deeply rooted in his century.