Jef Friboulet (1919 - 2003) - Oil On Canvas

Oil on canvas by Jef Friboulet (1919-2003). This work straddles the line between figuration and abstraction. The palette, dominated by ochres, golden yellows, deep browns, and touches of red, lends the piece a warm, earthy intensity. The work is signed lower right: Émile Jean Jules Friboulet, known as Jef Friboulet. He entered the workforce at the age of 12 and, at 20, enlisted in the 104th Aviation Regiment at Le Bourget, where his initials would later give him his surname. Jef became a photographer and painter for the armed forces. After returning to civilian life following the war, he worked as a bus driver, and this self-taught artist used his free time to practice the techniques he had learned from other artists. From 1948 onwards, Jef Friboulet exhibited regularly in Upper Normandy, and his painting style became increasingly distinctive, eventually leading to the creation of his own expressionism where the materials and lines emphasized the nobility of humankind in its most mundane labor. This earned him his first major accolades in 1950 with the Grand Prix d'Automne in Monaco. Dimensions without frame: 65 x 54 cm. Dimensions with frame: 80 x 70 cm.