David Dellepiane (1866 - 1932) — Still Life

Still life
Mixed media on paper, signed lower right.
108 x 158 cm

Provenance:
Private collection, Nice.

The Mediterranean trait: David Dellepiane

The family of David Dellepiane, originally from Genoa, settled in 1875 in Marseille, in the Saint-Jean district, which was then home to most immigrants. The young man, from a line of craftsmen, studied at the city's School of Fine Arts. He then completed his training for a while in Paris where, at the end of the century, he attended the studio of Jules Chéret. Influenced by Art Nouveau aesthetics and Japonism, from which he borrowed in particular a particular interpretation of the layout of the subject through framing, he was also seduced by the pointillist rendering, which he adapted in a vibrant touch without, however, associating it with the divisionism of colors: he simply had to appropriate this juxtaposition of oriented touches which gave his compositions a sort of blur, accentuating the distancing of the subject. Dellepiane explores this transposition of the subject through the clay santon, a typically Provençal folk art artifact to which he will give life in a very numerous series of works that will occupy him from the first decade of the 20th century. The most edifying illustration of this research was the monumental decor created for the Hotel Le Provençal in Juan les Pins, commissioned by the American businessman Franck Jay Gould in the 1920s. David Dellepiane did not abandon his activities as a poster artist and illustrator, however, and the famous poster depicting the myth of Gyptis and Protis, created for the 25th centenary of the founding of Marseille, will be followed by many other notable achievements: posters for the colonial exhibitions of 1906 and 1925, advertising for Le Nil cigarettes, contract with the PLM (Paris Lyon Méditerranée) railway company... The artist died in 1932. In 1999, in Marseille, a major retrospective was held, showcasing his work in all its diversity. At the end of 2010, the gallery also paid tribute to David Dellepiane in its first solo exhibition, presenting more than 80 works, most of them unseen, by this unique artist.

Discover more of this artist's work on the gallery's website: https://www.galeriepentcheff.fr/fr/peintre-david-dellepiane