René Gaston Lagorre (1914–2003), Gypsy Scene, Gouache On Paper

A romantic nighttime scene in a Romani camp.
Gouache on paper by René Gaston Lagorre.
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A painter from Ariège with an international reputation.
Born in 1913 in the United States to parents from Ariège who had emigrated, like many others from the Canton of Oust.
He returned to France in 1924.
He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, where he won the city’s Grand Prix in 1935, and later in Paris, where he also received awards.
He exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants beginning in 1954.
He drew much inspiration from his friends and the artistic movements of his time (Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin...).
Early in his career, he fulfilled commissions for frescoes and religious and secular paintings, some of which are now designated as historic monuments.

Internationally renowned, this painter—who exhibited in numerous world capitals—is well known in the Couserans region. He had his studio in Paris but spent time each year in this part of the Ariège, which inspired many of his oil paintings and gouache drawings.
As a figurative painter, his works featured vibrant colors, with his favorite themes including scenes of daily life (bear tamers, shepherds, hunters...), gypsy faces and encampments, landscapes (of the Ariège, North Africa, Spain, etc.), and characters from novels (Don Quixote, Mowgli, etc.).
Toward the end of his career, he turned to abstract art on small canvases with the “Z” series, a translation onto canvas of the ephemeral (Z as in “lightning”).
In addition to his paintings, René Lagorre’s talent can also be admired in large murals in the Haute-Garonne region, such as in Saint-Laurent-sur-Save and at the town hall of L’Isle-en-Dodon with “The Four Seasons.”
The town of Seix houses a collection of the artist’s works, which are regularly exhibited to the public.
The “Estivales de Lagorre” exhibition has been held every summer since 2009.