Place Furstenberg - Lithograph By Jules Lefranc

Original lithograph by Jules Lefranc depicting the Place Furstenberg in Paris
Head print on Arches wove paper
Artist's proof signed lower left "EA" for épreuve d'artiste; artist's signature lower right
lithograph in exceptional condition
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Born in Laval in 1887, Jules Lefranc shares with his illustrious compatriot, the Douanier Rousseau, a singular destiny that links him to Mayenne and self-taught art.Born into a family of ironmongers, he first ran the family businessfamily business, while nurturing a secret passion for painting,which he only began to practice assiduously after the First World War.World War I.

Contrary to the wild onirism of Rousseau, Lefranc developed an aestheticaesthetic of clarity and rigor. His style is characterized byan architectural geometry perceptible in his fascination with portsfactories and metal structures. The clarity of hislines and the absence of blur earned him the admiration of thesurrealists. But it is probably his singular perspectiveinduced by an often crushed depth that gives his works a timeless dimension.timeless dimension.

It was in Paris, in the 1920s, that he made decisive encountersClaude Monet in Giverny, who encouraged him. In1938, his work was recognized at the exhibition "Les Maîtresin Paris and New York. He later settled inGranville, he befriended Maurice Utrillo. His views of the Normandycoast and still lifes of everyday objects - reminiscent of his past as areminiscent of his past as a hardware merchant - testify to a vision of the beauty of everyday lifemeticulously ordered. In 1967, hemade a major donation to his hometown, enabling the creationof the Musée d'Art Naïf et d'Arts Singuliers (MANAS) in the Vieux-Châteauin Laval. He died in 1972, leaving behind a body of work in which poetrytechnical precision.