Jean-pierre Blanche (1927–), Three Pomegranates And A Pot, Oil On Canvas, Signed On The Right

Jean-Pierre BLANCHE, born in 1927, arrived in Aix-en-Provence in 1965. He lives and has his studio at 3 Adanson, in the Hôtel de Ramatuelle, which today houses the Galerie Jeanne Bossert. J. P. Blanche studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier and later in Paris. He received the Villa Ab-Del-Tif Prize in 1955. After spending time along the shores of the Mediterranean, he settled in the Montpellier region, in Puéchabon, in 1964. When he arrived in Aix, he was appointed professor of drawing at the School of Arts and Architecture in Marseille. Jean-Pierre Blanche is a studio artist; his painting seeks to capture the world through landscape by using the transparency of materials and light. Through the subjects of his paintings—windows, the studio, pomegranates, nights, Vauvenargues, and more—he conveys a highly poetic, colorful impression. From the 1990s until his death in 2022, pastel was his primary medium of expression; “it is the means of uniting painting and drawing,” as he confided to Michel Hilaire, former curator of the Musée Fabre. The strength of his painting stems from his constant determination never to neglect drawing in favor of color, nor color in favor of drawing. He expressed this very well himself: “When I work with color, drawing brings me back to reality,” “When I draw with black chalk, charcoal, or India ink, I think in terms of color.” ” The greatness and originality of his painting stem from his determination to remain aloof from trends and fads, and to live as closely as possible to nature. His works express an inner serenity and great harmony. His figurative painting is modern; he focuses ever more on the essential, reducing the subject to the point of approaching abstraction. Jean-Pierre Blanche has exhibited, notably, at the Musée Estrine in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, the Musée Regards de Provence in Marseille in 2024, and the Musée Vulliod Saint-Germain in Pézenas. His work is also part of the Paris Contemporary Art Collection and numerous other collections, including that of Ragrad de Provence in Marseille.