Oil On Paper Mounted On Heavy Cardboard Signed By Henri Laffite, "the Rock Of Nazareth"

Oil on canvas, signed on the front and back, dated 1949 and titled "The Rock of Nazareth, Portugal." From the studio collection of Henri Laffite in Condom (Gers). A painter, sculptor, and decorator from Gers, Henri Laffite was a precocious talent, creating his first sculptures at the age of 15 and entering the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse the following year, then in 1904 in Paris. He rented a modest room in Montparnasse and his neighbor was the Spanish painter José Clara, a close friend of Picasso. It was through him that he met Picasso and Fernand Léger. He honed his sculpture skills in Rodin's studio without abandoning his painting. He also had the opportunity to work with another great artist, Maurice Denis, with whom he collaborated on the frescoes for the Church of the Sacred Heart of Crete in Thonon-les-Bains. As a decorator, he left his mark on the grand cinemas of the capital, at the Colonial Exposition, and decorated the Portuguese pavilion at the 1937 Universal Exposition. A great traveler, he stayed in Portugal several times and then settled for a few years in Brazil before returning to France at the end of his life. Dimensions: cardboard 41 x 33 cm (unframed)