Lorrain Painting

Oil on canvas framed by Pierre Lepage (1906 - 1983, Vosges painter) Exhibition of Pont Aven in 1963, Harvest field at the approach of the village Height 54.5 X 71 cm, At sight 55.5 X 38.5 cm Pierre LEPAGE (1906 - 1983) City: Épinal (88) Painter, born in Epinal in 1906, died in Paris in 1983. After studying at the high school in his native town, he became a student of Prouvé at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, which left him to work in full independence. Tempted by cubism, two of his early works earned him the encouragement of Picasso. After his military service, he went to Paris where he entered the studio of André Lhote. After visiting the museums of Belgium and Holland where his taste was formed through contact with Flemish masters, he made a trip to southern Algeria from where he brought back many paintings, one of which was chosen for the Colonial Exhibition of 1931. Returned for some time to Epinal, he left, with André Jacquemin, for Morocco, where he produced remarkable works. He mingles with the people, not fearing to lead the life of the native, then, guided by a love of limitless freedom, he wanders in Tafilalet. Hosted by the legionaries, he decorates their rooms with his usual fantasy. Back in France, he was tempted by Brittany and got married there. His seascapes, his bridges in Paris make him one of the best Lorraine painters of his time. For the regional pavilion of the International Exhibition of 1937, he executed two huge canvases and a central panel of a triptych on Joan of Arc. In the spring of 1940, he was awarded the Ab-del-Tif Prize. A prisoner in 1940, he succeeded in having himself reformed and in reaching Algeria, one of his favorite lands. In 1944, part of his work was burned in Epinal during the bombing of this city. After the Liberation, he brought new works to France, became official painter of the army and settled in Concarneau. Since 1940, he exhibits regularly at the Salon d'Automne. His works are in the museums of Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Rabat, Vannes, Pont-Aven, Epinal and Saint-Dié. He was Commander of Arts and Letters.