Nude, Charcoal And Chalk On Paper By Armand Paulis 2

Originally from Antwerp, Armand Paulis spent most of his life in Brussels. After attending evening classes at the Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode Academy, he entered the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts in 1904, where he studied under Herman Richir, a celebrated portraitist of the time, Léon Rotthier, Guillaume Van Strydonck, and, most importantly, the Symbolist artist Jean Delville. His drawing, *Life and Death*, in graphite, charcoal, and with touches of sanguine and white chalk, for which the Academy jury, chaired by Fernand Khnopff, awarded Paulis first prize for composition in 1907, clearly demonstrates the Symbolist influence. Later, his meeting with Paul Bonduelle, a renowned architect whose sister he married, would prove decisive in his career. Indeed, as early as 1910, he designed, in collaboration with Bonduelle and other architects such as Eugène Dhuicque and Fernand Petit, projects for stained glass windows, interior decorations, and even ironwork, all in an Art Deco style. While Paulis worked extensively in building decoration, he never abandoned drawing or painting (he would later become a drawing teacher at the Etterbeek School of Arts and Crafts in 1920). Signed at the bottom center. A strip of paper extends the sheet at the top of the composition.