Jacques De Chastellus (1897-1954) Hst "breton Marine"

Oil on canvas, signed lower right, "Return from Fishing." Dimensions: 70 x 62 cm, 90 x 82 cm with frame. Jacques de Chastellus, painter and illustrator, painted Brittany in the 1920s and 30s. Born in Paris, he began his career as an illustrator for newspapers and periodicals, then moved to Flanders, Belgium, where he contributed to the development of the Art Deco style. A retrospective was organized in 1989 in his hometown, and a monograph was written for the occasion. His paintings of Brittany, in a highly personal style, very lively with vibrant colors, are sought after by collectors. Two of them were recently exhibited at the Musée du Faouët, which noted affinities between the artist's painting and the beginnings of Belgian comics, as also demonstrated by the numerous books he illustrated in the 1920s. The marine anchor that accompanies his paintings indicates that he was appointed official painter of the Navy, probably in Belgium because no trace of him can be found among the official painters of the Navy in France.