Marcel Mouly (February 6, 1918 – January 7, 2008) was a French artist who painted in an
abstract style.
Early life
Mouly was born in Paris, France, on February 6, 1918.
His interest in art developed in grade school. Mouly was first sent to drawing class as a form of punishment. At age 13, he left school to work, first as a beach vendor, then as an apprentice to a local dentist and later for a wine merchant delivering heavy baskets of wine. In 1935, while still employed by the wine merchant, Mouly began taking night classes in the arts at
French Academies
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
, the Cours Montparnasse 80, where he remained until he served in military duty during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
beginning in 1938. After France fell to Germany in June 1940, Mouly became a civilian again, and earned a living working odd jobs. Mouly befriended an artist named Bernard la Fourcade, and the two established a studio in Auteuil. During a trip to
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in 1942, they were stopped by German officials and questioned for their lack of travel documentation, which was then required by the
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...
government. Mouly and la Fourcade were arrested shortly after their return to Paris, and mistakenly imprisoned as spies. During his solitary confinement, Mouly solidified his plans to become an artist.
Career
Shortly after being released from prison, Mouly, along with fellow artist
Édouard Pignon, rented the Boulogne studio of famed modernist sculptor
Jacques Lipchitz
Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, dominated by a synthetic style of ...
(1891–1973). Mouly learned from Lipchitz, particularly about the style of
cubism. By the mid-1940s, Mouly's art began to gain notoriety from his peers and collectors. In 1945, his paintings were exhibited alongside the paintings of
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...
in the
Salon d'Automne
The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...
in Paris.
The following year he moved to La Ruche where he became friends with
Picasso,
Chagall
Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
, and Klein, and exhibited at the
Salon du Mai.
Mouly's first one-person exhibition was held in 1949 at the Libraire Bergamasque.
Mouly's style was influenced by the deep, bold colors typically used in
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...
's fauvist works, and by the
cubism of
Picasso. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Mouly created many
lithographs
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
.
Fame and honors
Marcel Mouly's work has been exhibited all over the world, including in the permanent collections of more than 20 museums, such as the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in Japan, the Museum of Geneva, the Museum of Modern Art in Helsinki, and Paris'
Bibliotheque Nationale. He has also been the subject of numerous books, and recognized by such honors as the Chevalier de L'Orde des Arts et Lettres (1957) and the Premier Prix de Lithographie (1973).
Marcel Mouly died on January 7, 2008, a month before his 90th birthday.
"His art is pure and direct in its message," said art historian and writer Joseph Jacobs. "It is an art about beauty and life, and art roots firmly planted in the
School of Paris
The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century.
The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...
.
Picasso,
Braque,
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...
,
Rouault,
Vlaminck
Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 w ...
,
Chagall
Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
,
Vuillard and
Dufy are his patrimony, and he has carried their mantel with unflagging dedication."
Exhibitions
*1990 - Atelier Gourdon, Palm Springs
*1996 - Musee de Shanghai, China
*1997 - Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Hong Kong
*1997 -
Park West Gallery
Park West Gallery is a commercial art gallery based in Southfield, Michigan, United States. Park West Gallery claims to be the largest private art gallery in the world, but that is largely disputed, and that it has sold hundreds of works of art ...
, Michigan
*1997 - Le Domaine Perdu Galerie Meyral Perigerd, with his son Pierre, a sculptor
*1998 - Philipps Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
*1999 - Opera Gallery, Paris
*1999 - University Museum, Carbondale, Illinois with Pierre Mouly
*1999 - Galerie Nolan Rankin, Houston, Texas with Pierre Mouly
*2000 - Galerie du Chateau, Noirmoutier, France
*2000 - Park West Gallery, Michigan
*2005 - Chok Som Bo Kum Pao Gallery, Guangzhou
*2006 -
Opera Gallery
Opera Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery presenting work by established and emerging artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Founded in Paris in 1994 by Gilles Dyan, Opera Gallery now has thirteen exhibition spaces in New York ...
, Paris
*2007 - National Fine Art Canada
Collections
*The Centre Pompidou, France
*Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouly, Marcel
1918 births
2008 deaths
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
French male painters
21st-century French painters
21st-century French male artists
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Modern painters
Fauvism