Lionel Floch was born in
Quimper
Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Administration
Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department.
Geography
The ...
in 1895 and died in 1972. He was a French painter, engraver and designer.
Biography
The son of a naval officer he studied at the "Tour d'Auvergne" school in Quimper. Mobilized during the 1914-1918 war he then studied painting under
Théophile Deyrolle
Théophile-Louis Deyrolle (16 December 1844, Paris - 14 December 1923, Concarneau) was a French painter, illustrator and ceramicist.
Biography
He came from a family of entomologists and naturalists who owned a well-known taxidermy shop in Pa ...
at
Concarneau
Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt.
The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the main ...
. He was also influenced by
Lucien Simon
Lucien Joseph Simon (1861 – 1945) was a French painter and teacher born in Paris.
Early life and education
Simon was born in Paris. After graduating from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, he studied painting at the studio of Jules Didier, then from ...
. He had little love of abstract painting concentrating on figurative works many depicting scenes of life in the "Pays Bigouden" and the area around Cap Sizun (Baie de Douarnenez, la baie d'Audierne, la Pointe du Raz.etc.). He painted the Breton pardons, scenes at the port and people collecting seaweed ("Le ramassage du goémon"). From 1923 to 1948 he worked as the registrar of
Pont-Croix
Pont-Croix (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France.
The town lies about from Audierne on the road to Douarnenez and is connec ...
but continued to paint and was a leading figure in the Quimper intellectual and artistic community during these years, his friends including
Jean Moulin
Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less than two months l ...
and
Max Jacob
Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.
Life and career
After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...
. Floch was anti-militarist, anti-clerical and anti-Gaullist. He executed portraits of Jacob and Moulin, who both died at the hands of the Germans. Moulin died on a train on the way to a concentration camp in Germany and Jacob died at the
Drancy
Drancy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris.
History
Toponymy
The name Drancy comes from Medieval Lati ...
camp awaiting deportation. In 1927, Floch showed his works at the Saluden Gallery in Brest. He then exhibited there regularly, and at the Lécuyer Gallery in Quimper. He also exhibited regularly at the French Artists Salon and in the Autumn Salon. He was subsequently transferred as the registrar of
Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...
and
Chinon
Chinon () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginning in the late 15th and early 16th centuri ...
until finally retiring to Quimper in 1958 where he spent the rest of his life. In his final years he had a change of mind and became interested in abstract painting.
Some of his works
His works were numerous and include:-
* ''Un pardon en Pays Bigouden''. He completed this oil painting in around 1934 and it is held in the collections of the Quimper Musée des beaux-arts.
* ''La Cornouaille, sa mer, ses pardons, ses sites''. This painting is also held by the Quimper Musée des beaux-arts.
* ''Le ramassage du goémon''. This oil on canvas work depicting seaweed pickers is in private hands.
* He also helped decorate the "Salle des fêtes" in
Douarnenez
Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France.
It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estuary ...
* He also completed a painting for the Renault sales room in Quimper.
* Floch was also commissioned to execute paintings for Senator Astor's manor at Kérazan and for the Pascal brother's hotel at Quimper. He also tried his hand making pottery for the faïencerie Henriot and executing and designing wood carvings.
Notes
1."La pêche à la sardine", one of Floch's paintings, was used to decorate sardine tins.
2. In 2007 the "maison du marquisat" of Pont-Croix and the "Musée bigouden" of
Pont-l'Abbé
Pont-l'Abbé (; , "Abbot's bridge") is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
The self-styled capital of Pays Bigouden (roughly the region between the river Odet and the Bay of Audierne), Pont-l'Abbé was fou ...
staged a retrospective of Floch's work.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floch, Lionel
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
1895 births
1972 deaths
19th-century French male artists