Mercédès Legrand (1893 – 1945) was a Spanish-born Belgian visual artist, illustrator, and poet. She was known for her work as a painter, enameller, and

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

. She is also known as Mercedes Legrand.

Early life and education

Mercédès Legrand was born on 14 July 1893,

Almodóvar del Campo Almodóvar del Campo is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Ciudad Real, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Featuring a total area of 1.208,25 km2, it is the largest municipality in the region and one of the largest m ...

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

, Spain to Belgian parents. The first ten years of her childhood were spent in Spain, before she moved abroad to Brussels, Belgium, England and Germany for schooling. She attended the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels ( ''(ArBA-EsA)''; ) is an art school in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1711. Starting from modest beginnings in a single room in Brussels Town Hall, Brussels' Town Hall, it has since 1876 been operat ...

, from 1916 to 1919. In 1921, she married a classmate , who was an art critic and painter, they settled in Paris in the 1920s. Together they had a child, Jean-Michel (born 1924) in Brussels.

Career

In September 1920, Legrand completed a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

memorial in

Nassogne Nassogne () is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 111.96 km2, had 5,045 inhabitants, giving a population density of 45.1 inhabitants per km2. The m ...

, Belgium, commissioned by the municipality, and is depicting a civilian confronted with the remains of a soldier. Legrand, Van Gindertael, and Michel de Goeye co-created ''Hélianthe'', an avant-garde arts review magazine. In Paris, she exhibited regularly artists such as Jean Pougny, Emmanuel Mané-Katz,

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

, Edouard Vuillard,

Georges Rouault Georges-Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris - 13 February 1958, Paris) was a French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born into a poor famil ...

Othon Friesz Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 – 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement. Biography Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of ...

, and

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...

. In 1928 (or in 1937, depending on the source), she married Jewish artist

Charles Edmond Kayser Charles Edmond Kayser (1882 – 1965) was a French visual artist, teacher, arts administrator, and curator. His work was known for themes of urban landscapes, seascapes, and landscapes. Kayser taught at Académie Scandinave in Paris for many y ...

. In 1941, the family moved to

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, where her husband was working. During this period she started working in enamels, which were to become an important part of her work. They moved to

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

in the 1940s, where she died in 1945 from the inhalation of

nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...

while

enameling Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word ''vitreous'' comes ...

Legacy

Her archives are held at the

Bibliothèque Kandinsky The Kandinsky Library (or ''Bibliothèque Kandinsky'' in French) is a library of 20th and 21st century visual arts located at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, France. It also serves as the Documentation and Research Centre of the French National Mus ...

. Her work can be found in museum collections, including at the

La Piscine Museum La Piscine (French for "the swimming pool") is a museum of art and industry, located in the city of Roubaix in northern France. It is more formally known as La Piscine-Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent or Le musée d'Art et d'Industrie ...

, and . In 2020, a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

retrospective exhibition of Legrand's artwork, ''Mercédès Legrand (1893–1945): à fleur de toile: exposition'', was shown at the Musée du Mont-de-Piété de Bergues in

Bergues Bergues (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgium, Belgian border. Locally it is referred to ...

, France, and at Famenne & Art Museum (FAM) in

Marche-en-Famenne Marche-en-Famenne (; ; literally "Marche in Famenne") is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. The municipality consists of the following districts: Aye, Hargimont, Humain, Marche-en-Famenne, ...

, Belgium.

Publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legrand, Mercédès 1893 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Belgian painters 20th-century Belgian poets 20th-century Belgian sculptors 20th-century Belgian women painters Artists from Avignon Painters from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Spanish people of Belgian descent Artists from Paris Belgian expatriates in France 20th-century Belgian illustrators Belgian poets in French Belgian potters Belgian women poets 20th-century Belgian women sculptors French enamellers Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels alumni Women enamellers