André Delauzières (1904-1941) Chartres 1932. Son Of Gaston Balande, Marquet, La Rochelle, Ré.

A rare and beautiful oil on canvas by André Gaston Delauzières depicting a view of Chartres in 1932, signed and dated lower right. The canvas measures 33 x 41 cm, and 41.5 x 49.5 cm including the frame. This is a very fine post-impressionist composition by André Delauzières, painted in 1932 during a stay in Chartres, perhaps in the company of his father, Gaston Balande, who also painted Chartres. The brushwork is clearly similar to his father's, but he adds a touch of expressionism, somewhat in the manner of the German painters of Die Brücke, perhaps also thanks to his rather muted palette of browns, grays, and deep greens—in short, a very beautiful work worthy of a great painter. A little-known painter who, nevertheless, was not without a certain talent. His father being well-known, even renowned, André Balande wanted to owe his success, which he fervently hoped for, solely to his own merits. He therefore adopted a pseudonym, choosing it quite simply by adopting the name of the cabin near Nieuil-sur-Mer where his father had a studio. The Lauzières cabin was indeed one of Gaston Balande's favorite retreats, where he came to paint and rest, invariably accompanied by his family. It was in Saujon, where he was recovering in 1902-1903 from the lung ailment that had led to his discharge from the army, that Gaston Balande met a young woman from Le Gua, Claire Roux, whom he soon married and to whom he remained devoted until her death in 1970. This long-lasting couple had only one son, André-Gaston-Paul, born in Paris in 1904. The child is often depicted by his father at different ages during his childhood. These are intimate and spontaneous paintings, full of charm and always original. Showing an early aptitude for drawing, André decided to make it his profession, and he studied under Jean-Paul Laurens (2) and especially William Lappara, who seems to have influenced him considerably more than Laurens. The Bordeaux-born artist, to whom the Fine Arts Gallery dedicated an exhibition in 1997, displayed a vibrant style, closer to the tastes of the Balande family, and favored exotic subjects, which André would explore at length during his travels in North Africa. He continued his training at the École des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Lucien Simon, who was appointed professor in 1923. It was, it seems, in Simon's class that he became friends with Yves Brayer in 1924. He introduced Brayer to his father, who greatly appreciated his work. As a result, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants as early as 1926. In 1934, he won a prize at the Colonial Fine Arts Exhibition, which enabled him to travel to Tunis, from where he brought back numerous landscape and genre paintings. In 1935, he received the Bernheim de Villiers Prize from the Salon des Artistes Français, and in 1939, the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Prize. The latter came with a promise of a trip to Morocco, a project that unfortunately never materialized due to the declaration of war. At the age of 35, André was mobilized. Wounded in 1940, he was treated at the hospital in Mantes and sent to his family to convalesce. His parents had fled Paris and taken refuge in Lauzières, near La Rochelle, where he came to rest, surrounded by their care and that of his wife, Denise Salomon. The wound was not serious, and he seemed to recover quite quickly. However, in the months that followed, his health gradually deteriorated; he became ill and, on August 23, 1941, died from complications of this illness. He was 37 years old and left no descendants, only his widow, who would spend her final days in Lauzières, near her in-laws' home. It was there that she would die. This painting is in good condition; it would only need cleaning, I think. It comes in a period frame with a white patina. The artwork is guaranteed authentic.