Séry Olivier (1906-2000) "fishermen In The Bay Of Mont Saint-michel" Normandy Brittany Paris

Olivier SÉRY (1906-2000)

"Fishermen in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel, 1977"

Oil on canvas,
Signed lower right,
Titled and dated on the reverse by the artist: "Le Mont Saint-Michel 1977",

Provenance: Exhibition of the painter Olivier Séry. (documents present on the back of the canvas)

A beautiful, luminous work with strong contrasts by the French painter Olivier Séry, depicting the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel bustling with fishermen.
The artist plays with light and reflections on the water to bring his work to life and perfectly capture the light at the beginning or end of the day at low tide in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel.

As a young man, Olivier Séry quickly demonstrated an aptitude for drawing, and he was encouraged by his drawing teacher in high school. He also trained with the painter Léon Lecourt. He was a student at the School of Fine Arts in Le Havre. He also trained with the painter Léon Launay in evening classes. After his training, he worked in the coffee trade and then opened a coffee roastery in Dragey after his marriage in October 1929 to Marcelle Briant, daughter of shopkeepers from Le Havre. He nevertheless continued to paint. His meeting with the painter Jacques Simon (1875-1965) would prove decisive. He considered him his mentor and friend during the Occupation.

Convinced of his talent, Jacques Simon supported him in joining the Société des Artistes Français in 1952. That same year, he presented his painting "La Bourrasque" (The Squall), painted in Bacilly, where he had settled in 1945. This painting officially launched his artistic career and contributed to his reputation as a painter of wind and rainy landscapes. From then on, he exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français, the Salon d'Hiver, and in Parisian galleries.

In 1955, he left Genêts for Mantes, then settled in Le Havre in 1958. He remarried in July 1963 to Nelly Launay (1918-2020), the stepdaughter of the painter Léon Launay. He exhibited at the Hervieux studio, and after this success, Olivier Séry exhibited regularly in galleries in Le Havre, then in Normandy (Avranches, Granville, Ouistreham, etc.) and throughout France (Valenciennes, Dinard, etc.). He has been spending his holidays there since 1947…). He receives awards. His career takes an international turn.
In 1974, he settles in La Vicomté-sur-Rance.
Near Dinan, this town also awards him prizes.

Dimensions: 73 x 60 cm unframed and 81 x 94 cm with its original gilded wooden frame.

For more information, please contact us.