Roger Bissière (22 September 1886 – 2 December 1964) was a French visual artist and teacher. He designed
stained glass window
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
s for
Metz cathedral
Metz Cathedral is the cathedral of the Catholic Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz, Diocese of Metz, the seat of the Bishop of Metz, bishops of Metz. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The diocese dates back at least to the 4th century and the presen ...
and several other churches; as well as painted, and collaged textiles.
Early life and education
Roger Bissière was born 22 September 1886 in Villeréal,
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019. In 1901 the family moved to Bordeaux. His mother, Elisabeth Chastaignol, died 25 April 1902. He started painting at the age of 17.
In 1904 his father, Fernand Bissière, did not allow him to enter art school. Roger then travelled to Algeria.
From 1905 to 1910, he enrolled at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux where he studied with Paul François Quinsac. Starting in September 1910, he studied with Gabriel Ferrier at the
École des Beaux-Arts
; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...
in Paris.
He married Catherine Lucie Lotte (nicknamed ''Mousse''), 23 January 1919. Their son Marc-Antoine was born 15 July 1925.
Career
Bissière published articles in the magazine L'Esprit Nouveau about
Seurat
Georges Pierre Seurat ( , ; ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough ...
(No. 1, 1920),
Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
(No. 4, 1921) and
Corot
CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...
(No. 9, 1921).
He was an art teacher at the
Académie Ranson
The Académie Ranson was a private art school founded in 1908 in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909).
History
The Académie Ranson was founded in 1908 by Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Jul ...
in Paris from 1925 until 1938.
In 1936, Bissière was one of the artists who executed
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne
The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mu ...
. He participated in the first three
documenta
Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany.
Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...
exhibitions of 1955, 1959 and 1964.
After he realised his eyesight was deteriorating he was diagnosed with
glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...
in 1939. By 1950 his peripheral vision was severely affected and he underwent surgery. This stopped him from going blind but did not improve his eyesight, and he complained his eyes tired more quickly when he was painting.
Death and legacy
Bissière died 2 December 1964, in Boissièrette, Lot, France. ''Rue Roger-Bissière'' ( fr) in Paris is named in his honour.
Forgeries
Between 1985 and 1995 John Myatt produced a number of fake Roger Bissière paintings for
John Drewe
John Drewe (born 1948) is a British purveyor of art forgeries who commissioned artist John Myatt to paint them. Drewe earned about £1.8 million executing these art crimes.
Early life
Drewe was born John Cockett in 1948 in Sussex, England. A ...