"Jacques Thevenet (1891-1989) Portrait Of Man In The Studio, Gouache"
Jacques Thevenet (1891-1989)Portrait of a man in the studio
Gouache on paper
Signed lower right
64 x 49 cm
Framed 77 x 62 cm, damages to the frame, see photographs please
Jacques Thévenet was born in Montquinon 17 October 1891, in the family’s ancestral home, built by his great grand-father, Auguste Hugues Claude Thévenet, lawyer from Château-Chinon.
He had 3 sisters and lost his mother in 1895 when he was only four. His father Louis moved the family toPariswhere he run a law practice.
Young Jacques studied at theLycée Carnotand later attended theÉcole de droitof theSorbonne University. Simultaneously, he attended theAcadémie Julian, with several painters such as Amédée de la Patellière, Jean Crotti,Arthur Szyk.
In 1912 he was deployed toNancyfor the military service and mobilized for service within the11e division d’Infanterie/Division de ferto fight at theGreat Warafter which he was awarded a medal and apetit galon d’or.
Thévenet and his father joined the Liberation celebrations in theChamps Elysées11 November 1918. It was then when he discarded the idea of taking over his father’s law practice. "I was to the point of no return", he later recalled.
In 1919 he joined the workshop of interior designer Marcel Mathelin, where he learned new techniques and art forms such as ink, lithography, costume projects for theater and cinema, fashion sketches and shop displays.
In 1920 he married Marcel’s daughter, Paule, and the couple had two children: Renée (1921) and Pierre (1925). He became partner at his stepfather’s business.
Interested in theatre and cinema, Thévenet took reading lessons at theThéâtre du Vieux Colombierunder theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatistJacques Copeau. He met filmmakerAbel Ganceat thePathéProduction company in theJoinville studios.
In 1922 he made his debut at theSociété des Artistes Indépendants, along withPaul SignacandMaximilien Luce. He then started exhibiting regularly at the Salons and Galleries of Paris and became a member of theSalon d’Automne. Influenced byAndré Dunoyer de Segonzac, his preferred subjects were still lifes and figures.
Also in 1922 he met art critic Roger Allard, director of luxury editions art publishing companyÈditions Gallimard, run byGaston Gallimard. Allard introduced him to writersAntoine de Saint-Exupéry,Jules Romains,Jacques de Lacretelle,Roger Martin du Gard,Léon-Paul Fargue, among others, with whom he collaborated throughout his life.
In 1923 he worked with Abel Gance in the film "La roue".
In 1926 he traveled aroundElbeuf, inNormandy, with writer André Maurois.
In 1927 art critic Robert Rey wrote positively about Thévenet in the "Europe Nouvelle".
In May 1930 he visited writer Jean Giono inManosqueand the two became friends.]
In 1932 he visitedMarseilleto attend his exhibition at thePol Le Roygallery. His friendsJean Giono, composerArthur Honeggerand his wife, concert pianistAndrée Vaurabourg, attended the exhibition which was a great success. So much so, he settled at a studio located at 12 Quai de Rive-Neuve, in theold port, where he stayed until 1942.
Giono introduced him to writer and filmmakerMarcel Pagnolwho shot the filmManon des SourcesinChâteau-Chinon.
In 1933 Giono visited Thévenet in Montquin.
In 1936 he met poet, dramatist, and diplomatPaul Claudelin Marseille. The two became friends and Claudel visited Thévenet in Montquin in 1939. This year Thévenet fell ill and went to theAlpsto convalescence. At this time, he made drawings to illustrate theSpanish Civil War.
In 1939 Giono wrote a positive review about him inParis-Soir.
In February 1940Paul Claudelexhibited Thévenet’s paintings at his Parisian flat, which was a big success. All the paintings were sold.
While in Paris, his friend artistOthon Frieszintroduced Thévenet to painter, sculptor and designer Henry de Waroquier, film director and writerAndré Heuzé, painter and interior designer Valdo Barbey, and interior designer Raymond Subes.
In 1940, Roger Allard introduced Thévenet to editors Guy Schoeller and young Robert Laffont.
Around this time, several personalities and collectors purchased paintings direct from Thévenet in his Marseille studio, namely: actor and entertainerMaurice Chevalier, painter Paul Signac, PrincePierredeMonaco, and banker, writer, and filmmakerPhilippe de Rothschild.
During theParisoccupationhe returned there for business only. The War marked a period of less artistic activity and higher introspection. Roger Allard dedicated one edition of his "Masters of tomorrow" series to Thévenet. In it, he wrote:
"Jacques Thévenet has painted hundreds of canvases, none of which is similar or meaningless because none is a lie or a pretension, and each one, with its own charm, has that family resemblance that distinguishes well-born painting. Jacques Thevenet's art is not that of a man in a hurry. His drawings have the easy way of conversation."
After 1945 Thévenet was very active as a painter and an illustrator. He portrayed his friendsArthur Rubinstein,Jean GionoandPaul Claudel. He started spending four months in his ancestral home and the rest of the year in his Parisian studio.
In 1947 he traveled toMoroccoand joined the "Groupe d’Émulation Artistique du Nivernais", and provided illustrations for the exhibition catalogues.
In 1951 he did the interior deco for businessmanCharles Scheneider’s office.
In 1953 he traveled with Giono aroundItaly(Rome,Orvieto,Assisi,Arezzo,Florence) andSpain(ToledoandGranada). In the Summer of 1957, the two returned toItalyagain, to gather drawings and illustrations for Giono andJean Rostand.
In 1954 he started his collaboration with "Livre de Poche", to illustrate book covers.
In 1964, he was the guest of honor of theSociété Creusotine des Beaux-Arts.
Writer Joseph Pasquet invited him to the foundation of the "Académie du Morvan" 15 July 1967. The event took place inChâteau-Chinonand several personalities attended: statesmanFrançois Mitterrand, doctor and politician Léon Bondoux, law professorJules Basdevan, historian, and archivistRégine Pernoud, writer, editor, and art critic Henri Perruchot, writer and journalist Joseph Bruley, writer and professor Jean Chatelain, businessman Louis-Philippe Bondoux, alongside the three directors: doctor and archaeologist Lucien Olivier, engineer Henri Desbruères and professor and linguist Claude Régnier.
In 1972, the library ofAutunorganized a tribute to him by presenting his works. His conference for the occasion resulted into "Un peintre du livre et ses modèles". Jean Séverin wrote an article about him in the "Journal du Centre", a publication active inNeverssince 1944.
In 1973, the town ofChâteau-Chinondedicated one room of its museum to Jacques Thévenet. The "Journal du centre" published an article about him titled "The Morvan from the point of view of a painter"
In 1975, in an interview with Yvonne Carré, Thévenet described his love for the Morvan region: "I used to hear people say that the Morvan was not a nature for painters, that it lacked color, that all its land full of forests, all these fields surrounded by hedges, made it a dark country, with no warmth. But it is this very character that first attracted me."
In 1978 "Vivre en Bourgogne" published an interview with Thévenet by journalist Marcel Barbotte.
He died on April 5, 1989 in his Parisian studio at 3 Auguste Comte.
His works can be found in private collections and museums such as theCentre Pompidou, theMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, theMusée d'Art Moderne de Paris, theKunstmuseum Den Haag, theMuseum of Fine Arts, Reims, and theMuseum of modern art André Malraux - MuMa.
Paris salons and exhibitions
Le Magazine
Rivista Artiquariato
TRÉSORS magazine