Paul Vera (1882–1957) was a French painter, designer and pioneer of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. He is known for his collaboration on garden designs with his brother

André Vera André Vera (1881–1971) was a French garden designer, town planner and pioneer of the Art Deco style. He is known for his collaboration with his brother, the painter and decorator Paul Vera. He wanted to renew French design, which he felt had be ...

Life

Paul Vera was born in Paris in 1882. His father was Gustave Lėon Vera, an architect, and his older brother André became a garden designer. He was raised in Paris, and became interested in painting while still young. He would often go with

Louis Abel-Truchet Louis Abel-Truchet (29 December 1857 9 September 1918) was a French painter and poster artist. He was known for landscapes, genre scenes and depictions of Parisian nightlife. Biography He was a student of Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and ...

, an artist, on excursion to paint ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

''. He studied painting for ten years, first at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, then the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

and finally at the

Académie Ranson The Académie Ranson was founded in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Julian, in 1908.

. In 1904 he exhibited for the first time at 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 ...

. He was a friend of the artists

Roger de La Fresnaye Roger de La Fresnaye (; 11 July 1885 – 27 November 1925) was a French Cubist painter. Early years and education La Fresnaye was born in Le Mans where his father, an officer in the French army, was temporarily stationed. The La Fresnayes were ...

and

André Mare Charles André Mare (1885–1932), or André-Charles Mare, was a French painter and textile designer, and co-founder of the Company of French Art (''la Compagnie des Arts Français'') in 1919. He was a designer of colorful textiles, and was one o ...

of the Puteaux Group. Paul was influenced by cubism based on the mathematical principles of the

golden ratio In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0, where the Greek letter phi ( ...

. The Vera brothers collaborated on formal, geometric garden designs in

style. This style originated with the work of

Louis Süe Louis Süe (14 July 1875 – 7 August 1968) was a French painter, architect, designer and decorator. He and André Mare co-founded the ''Compagnie des arts français'', which produced Art Deco furniture and interior decorations for wealthy customer ...

. The brothers joined with other artists to create ''L'Atelier Français'', a cooperative business that borrowed organizational idea from the Wiener Werkstätte. The other members included

André Groult André Groult (27 August 1884 – 1966) was a French decorator and furniture designer., and one of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco style. His work featured curving and organic shapes, and extremely rich materials. His work has been de ...

Gustave Louis Jaulmes Gustave Louis Jaulmes (14 April 1873 – 7 January 1959) was an eclectic French artist who followed the neoclassical trend in the Art Deco movement. He created monumental frescoes, paintings, posters, illustrations, cartoons for tapestries and carp ...

(1873–1959), Roger de La Fresnaye and André Mare. André Vera wrote a manifesto that defined the goal of the group as combining traditional and modern ideas to bring clarity, order and aesthetic unity to interior design. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18) Vera served in the army's camouflage corps, making covers for observation posts and artillery. After the war he joined the ''Compagnie des Arts Français'', which Louis Süe and André Mare had founded as a successor to the ''Atalier Français''. Vera became a decorator for the company, mainly painting the decorations on objects that others had designed. He painted furniture, made wallpaper and textile patterns, printed illustrations and graphic designs, made sketches for tapestry and bas-relief panels. He used a limited number of geometrically abstracted designs drawn from plants, fountains and allegorical or mythical figures. Many of his works were shown in the two pavilions of the ''Compagnie des Arts Français'' at the 1925

International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

in Paris. Vera also renewed the tapestry cartoons for the Aubusson workshops and the

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

and Gobelins manufacturies. He also drew ceramics for the ''

Manufacture nationale de Sèvres The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It ...

''. Paul Vera settled in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

in 1920. The Municipal Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye has a large collection of Paul Vera's work, including watercolours, paintings, tapestries, wood engravings, ceramics and porcelain. Many of the items were donated to the city by André Vera. The ''Espace Paul and André Vera'' in Saint-Germain-en-Laye is used for temporary exhibitions of work by local and regional artists.

Life

Publications

Notes

Sources

Further reading