Georges-henri Pescadère (1915 - 2003) — Composition, August 1980

Composition, August 1980
Oil on panel, signed, located and dated on the back.
100 x 81 cm

If you would like to see more works by our artist Georges-Henri Pescadère, the Alexis Pentcheff Gallery is organizing a major exhibition and sale of the artist's work from November 22nd to December 20th, with more than 200 works available for sale: https://www.galeriepentcheff.fr/fr/exposition-georges-henri-pescadere-1915-2003-690a37b18759b

Georges-Henri Pescadère (1915-2003) – A secret painter between Paris and the light of the South

Georges-Henri Pescadère was born on May 7, 1915 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Drawn to drawing from a young age, he entered the Germain-Pilon School of Applied Arts at fourteen, where he received a multidisciplinary education encompassing visual arts, decoration, architecture, and advertising. He then continued his studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Lucien Simon's studio, while also attending Adolphe Cassandre's classes and working in set design for theater and film. World War II interrupted this trajectory: having joined the Resistance, Pescadère was arrested by the Gestapo in July 1944 and deported to Germany, notably to the Dora concentration camp. He survived the war and, by 1946, had resumed a civilian life, which he rebuilt by marrying Anne Wemaëre. Two sons were born from this union, Marc in 1947 and Roch in 1949. That same year, he founded the company "Alliance d'Arts Graphiques," working as a graphic designer and advertising professional for nearly three decades. From the 1950s onward, Pescadère divided his time between Paris and southeastern France. In Bormes-les-Mimosas, where he acquired a house and studio, and in Curel, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, he found an environment conducive to intimate painting, far removed from social life. He produced a considerable body of work—more than six hundred paintings—which he exhibited very little, stating that he painted out of inner necessity rather than public ambition. His pictorial world unfolded around a few favored themes: the silent streets of 1950s Paris, luminous landscapes of the South of France or the Alps, rigorously composed still lifes, and numerous female nudes. Although influenced by Cézanne and Picasso, whom he admired since his youth, Pescadère developed a personal style, marked by structure, simplified forms, and a deliberate use of light. He rarely signed his canvases on the front, preferring to annotate the backs, as if he wanted to preserve their intimate character. Georges-Henri Pescadère died on November 7, 2003, in Bormes-les-Mimosas. It was only after his death that his work began to reach a wider audience, thanks to several exhibitions and the gradual rediscovery of his studio.

Discover more works by this artist on the gallery's website: https://www.galeriepentcheff.fr/fr/peintre-georges-henri-pescadere