Pierre Grisot ( 1911 - 1995 )

Pierre Grisot (1911–1995)

Charm and color. And all this with a piquant elegance that marked the post-war period of 1939–1945—this is how the painting of Pierre Grisot was perceived and is still perceived today. He was an excellent artist from a distinguished French school, fortunately well associated with the great masters of 20th-century painting. This incomparable painter of Paris and Parisian women was, however, born in Besançon in 1911 to a father who was, naturally, a watchmaker. But even as a young boy, at the age of ten, he could not resist exhibiting in Montmartre before the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts took him under its wing. His first major Parisian exhibition took place at the Ror Volmar Gallery in 1949, before he captivated art lovers and gallery owners in Saint-Tropez, Cannes, and Nice, and went on to exhibit at the most prestigious venues in London, Tokyo, and Venice, as well as in museums across the Middle and Near East, following in the footsteps of Bonnard, Utrillo, Dufy, Vlaminck, and Marie Laurencin—some of whom were his friends.

But I must admit that I have always, quite often, preferred the landscapes, floral compositions, and lovely women radiating a mischievous modesty with which Pierre GRISOT delighted us, to certain works cobbled together by certain contemporary artists deified by fashion and trends. GRISOT, with the utmost discretion and complete freedom, enhanced the atmosphere of his paintings by incorporating alluring details worthy of his work on the motif, reshaped by the imagination. With his refined touch, Pierre GRISOT knew how to apply a whole range of radiant colors to superb compositions, the juxtaposition of which, however, generated effects as intense as they were daring; the Art Deco influence asserted itself with grace. He knew how to capture the fleeting nature of light without any dullness—far from it—but with a harmonious ease that benefited equally charming bouquets and expansive landscapes, while ravishing female figures, whether coquettishly elegant or admirably unclothed, made this Impressionist a true master of the sensations and values that form the enduring legacy of a tender and enchanting pictorial art.

André RUELLAN, art critic

Oil on panel, signed lower right

Dimensions: 22 x 27 cm
with frame: 26 x 31 cm