Yaude (1937–2007) Nude On The Balcony

YAUDE (Jean Duraffourg, known as)
(Bellecombe 1937 – Beaumont du Périgord 2007)
Nude on the Balcony
Oil on canvas
H. 73 cm; W. 100 cm
Signed lower right. Titled on the back.

Provenance: Purchased from the artist by the previous owners.

Born in the Haut-Jura, Jean Duraffourg, known as Yaude—his mother’s maiden name—pursued a unique artistic path, blending sensitive figuration with graphic stylization. After training in drawing in Paris in the 1950s, he participated early on in several major art shows, including the Salon d’Automne, attracting the interest of art critic George Besson. But rather than pursuing a career in Paris, Yaude chose the path of seclusion and deep roots, settling permanently in Beaumont-du-Périgord in 1973.

The Périgord then became his creative territory. He does not paint its landscapes as postcards or faithful depictions. In Yaude’s work, villages, hills, and trees are reimagined through a sensitive memory. Forms are flattened, lines are simplified, and colors blend into soft harmonies. The warm light of the southwest permeates his work without excess: it illuminates, but never dominates. The Périgord is not a subject; it is a presence.

Drawing remains at the heart of his practice. Using ink, pencil, or graphite, he sketches and composes his works before enlarging them onto canvas. He traces the silhouettes of houses, fragments of roofs, and winding paths—all signs of a world he has observed, then distilled through a highly personal economy of means. Portraits also feature prominently in his work. These depict his friends and loved ones, whom we sometimes find in large, vibrant compositions. In these types of works, we see echoes of other artists from the Périgord region, such as Jean Cluseau-Lanauve and Pierre Baudin. Still lifes are not neglected, and subjects deeply rooted in the Périgord region are commonly found in them.

Her work, largely created in the privacy of her Périgord studio, remains largely unknown to the general public even today. Yet it possesses a power that blends attention to reality with poetic detachment. It belongs to that discreet tradition of painters who choose withdrawal over posturing, silence over a signature.

Throughout her career, Yaude maintained a unique, almost defiant relationship with her gallery owners and the recognition of her work. He sought to make his own way, rejecting the help offered to him, even going so far as to refuse the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg’s offer to become their official painter…
His talent remains evident in his work, which must now be brought to light once again.

Acquired by collectors from the Périgord region directly from the artist, this painting is part of the painter’s universe through its two main subjects: interlocking architectural forms and the human body.

This nude, seen from behind, evokes through delicate curves the voluptuousness of the body and the sensuality that emanates from feminine curves. Positioned as an observer of a female observer, the painter reveals just enough to allow the viewer to imagine both scenes: the one the artist has before him—in the middle of a studio or a bedroom, taking in this panorama—as well as the scene seen by the model, absorbed by a landscape and perhaps a few street scenes.