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Jean-Michel Coulon (1920-2014) was a French painter from the
1950: He exhibited alone at the Galerie 
1952: His other younger brother, Jean-François – a 25 years old officer in the French Air Force – crashed in a plane during a mission in Tunisia.
1953: He married Caroline Garabedian.
1955: The house and studio in Saint-Jean de Braye, near Orleans burned down in a fire. A great number of paintings are lost.
1956: He stayed two-month in the US; discovers the huge cities and is fascinated by New York. This first visit was the first of a long series of trips, most likely, a great source of inspiration for his painting.
1957: Birth of his only daughter.
1968: When France got out of the integrated NATO commandment, he moved to Brussels, with his wife who worked at the American mission to NATO. They will remain there until 1998.
From Brussels, the family traveled across Europe by car in all directions, with trips to cultural and artistic sights.
He took the car alone, sometimes, and left to explore some European countries, spending the night with local inhabitants, asking people to open very confidential illuminated archives or drawings kept out of the light.
1971: His exhibit in Brussels at the Regency gallery organized by Michel Vockaer was a big success. Eighteen paintings were sold. There was supposed to be a series of three shows. Only the first was held. Jean-Michel Coulon preferred to use the excuse of never being ready for the next series of paintings.
1999: He returns to live in Paris in the 16th arrondissement with a nearby studio.
He did not renew close contacts with the Paris galleries. He remained discreet, almost hidden. He goes to his studio every afternoon. His work went from painting to collages, which were done on oil paintings dating from the 1950s and 1960s.
2012: His health declined and after a long hospital stay he was confined to a wheelchair. Going back and forth to the studio was no longer possible, so it remained untouched until his death. He composes collages in his apartment,
on sheets of heavy drawing paper. His spirit remaining intelligent and lively up
to the end, he was working to the very last days, still with warm and bright colors.
2014: Jean-Michel Coulon died on October 25, at the age of 94. He is buried in
File:JMC Style Evolution.jpg, Evolution du style pictural de Jean-Michel Coulon
A Century of Collage
' at the Rosenberg & Co gallery, New York, USA *2020 : Group exhibition ''Couleur-Lumière'' at the galerie 50, La Cadière d’Azur, France *2021 : Group exhibition ''Summer Show'' at the galerie Dutko, Paris, France *2021 : Group exhibition
Quatre Peintres Abstraits de l’Après-Guerre
' at the galerie Luz 26, Saint-Jean de Luz, France *2021 : Group exhibitio
''Petits Formats'' at the galerie 50
La Cadière d’Azur, France *2021 : Group exhibition
Collages des Années 50 aux Années 2000
' at the galerie Luz 26, Saint-Jean de Luz, France
File:JMC - 1960 - 1.jpg, "Composition" Jean-Michel Coulon, 1960s.
File:JMC - 1970 - 1.jpg, "Composition" Jean-Michel Coulon, 1970s.
File:JMC - 1970 - 2.jpg, "Composition" Jean-Michel Coulon, 1970s.
File:JMC - 1970 - 3.jpg, "Composition" Jean-Michel Coulon, 1970s.
File:JMC - 2000 - 1.jpg, "Collage" by Jean-Michel Coulon, 2000s
Jean-Michel Coulon, a Life in Painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulon, Jean-Michel 1920 births 2014 deaths 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters Modern painters School of Paris Abstract painters Painters from Paris French abstract artists
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 ...
who had the particularity of having kept his work – over 600 paintings – almost secret over his artistic lifetime. Exhibits took place in Paris at the Jeanne Bucher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431)
* Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374)
* Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
* Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
Gallery in 1949 and 1950 and in Brussels in 1971.
Being well introduced in the artistic movement of the 1940s and 50s, he was acquainted with Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early life
...
, Serge Poliakoff
Serge Poliakoff (January 8, 1900 – October 12, 1969) was a Russian-born French modernist painter belonging to the 'New' Ecole de Paris (Tachisme).
Biography
Serge Poliakoff was born in Moscow in 1900, the thirteenth of fourteen children. Hi ...
, André Lanskoy
André Lanskoy (31 March 1902 – 24 August 1976) was a Russian painter and printmaker who worked in France. He is associated with the School of Paris and Tachisme, an abstract painting movement that began during the 1940s.
Biography
He wa ...
, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...
, met Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, in particular with his brother in law Olivier Debré
Olivier Debré (14 April 1920 – 1 June 1999) was a French abstract painter.
Biography
It was following a visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio in 1941 that Olivier Debré, an honoured artist and member of the French Academy, moved from figura ...
. He then gradually isolated himself to the point of rarely mentioning his painting.
Biography
1920: Born in Bordeaux, France. He was the grandson of Georges Coulon, vice-president of the Conseil d'État from 1898 to 1922, and the great-grandson of Eugène Pelletan and Eugène Scribe. Years 1930s: Studies at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly, then at preparatory classes to the French Grandes Ecoles at the Lycée Henri-IV, Paris. He undertook numerous visits to Germany, where he quickly became fluent, to Italy after high school with his friend and future brother in lawOlivier Debré
Olivier Debré (14 April 1920 – 1 June 1999) was a French abstract painter.
Biography
It was following a visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio in 1941 that Olivier Debré, an honoured artist and member of the French Academy, moved from figura ...
, on cargo ships along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Africa, on which he managed to board without paying any fees. He was witness to the increase of fascist ideology: he sees Hitler in Berlin then Mussolini in Rome.
1940: Jean-Michel Coulon was 20 years old when war broke out. In 1943, the Vichy regime introduced the compulsory work service so he decided to leave Paris and obtained a false identity card. He went to Megève in the French Alps with Olivier Debré
Olivier Debré (14 April 1920 – 1 June 1999) was a French abstract painter.
Biography
It was following a visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio in 1941 that Olivier Debré, an honoured artist and member of the French Academy, moved from figura ...
. It was during this period that the two friends both decided to devote themselves to painting.
1944: Jean-Michel’s brother, Jean-Rémi – 19 years old – was shot by the Germans at the Farm du By (Loiret).
1945: He began painting steadily in Paris.
1949: He met his future wife, Caroline Garabedian, an American violinist studying at the Paris Conservatory. He quickly learned English. He exhibited at the Jeanne Bucher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431)
* Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374)
* Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
* Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
gallery, in Paris with: Georges Braque
Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
, Jean Lurçat
Jean Lurçat (; 1 July 1892 – 6 January 1966) was a French artist noted for his role in the revival of contemporary tapestry.
Biography
He was born in Bruyères, Vosges, the son of Lucien Jean Baptiste Lurçat and Marie Emilie Marguerite L ...
, Jean-Paul Laurens
Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style.
Biography
Laurens was born in Fourquevaux and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexand ...
, Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early life
...
, André Lanskoy
André Lanskoy (31 March 1902 – 24 August 1976) was a Russian painter and printmaker who worked in France. He is associated with the School of Paris and Tachisme, an abstract painting movement that began during the 1940s.
Biography
He wa ...
, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...
, Hans Reichel
Hans Reichel (10 May 1949 – 22 November 2011) was a German improvisational guitarist, experimental luthier, inventor, and type designer.
Career
Reichel was born in Hagen, Germany. He began to teach himself violin at age seven, playing in the s ...
, André Bauchant
André Bauchant (April 24, 1873 – August 12, 1958) was a French 'naïve art, naïve' painter. He is known mostly as a painter of flowers and of landscape compositions with figures which were often informed by mythology and classical history.
...
, Alfred Manessier
Alfred Manessier (5 December 1911, Saint-Ouen – 1 August 1993, Orléans) was a non-figurative French painter, stained glass artist, and tapestry designer, part of the new School of Paris and the Salon de Mai.
Biography
Manessier was born amo ...
, Árpád Szenes
Árpád Szenes (also french: Árpád Szenès; 6 May 1897, Budapest – 16 January 1985, Paris) was a Hungary, Hungarian-Jewish Abstract art, abstract painter who worked in France.
and Vassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
.
1950: He exhibited alone at the Galerie Jeanne Bucher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431)
* Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374)
* Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
* Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
. The guest book shows signatures of many famous people. He takes part in a group exhibit in New York, at the Sidney Janis
Sidney Janis (July 8, 1896 – November 23, 1989) was a wealthy clothing manufacturer and art collector who opened an art gallery in New York City, New York in 1948. His gallery quickly gained prominence, for he not only exhibited work by the Abs ...
gallery. He spent three months at the Maison Descartes, in Amsterdam, having won a scholarship from the French Government. He became familiar with the Dutch classic painters and of course learned Dutch.
1952: His other younger brother, Jean-François – a 25 years old officer in the French Air Force – crashed in a plane during a mission in Tunisia.
1953: He married Caroline Garabedian.
1955: The house and studio in Saint-Jean de Braye, near Orleans burned down in a fire. A great number of paintings are lost.
1956: He stayed two-month in the US; discovers the huge cities and is fascinated by New York. This first visit was the first of a long series of trips, most likely, a great source of inspiration for his painting.
1957: Birth of his only daughter.
1968: When France got out of the integrated NATO commandment, he moved to Brussels, with his wife who worked at the American mission to NATO. They will remain there until 1998.
From Brussels, the family traveled across Europe by car in all directions, with trips to cultural and artistic sights.
He took the car alone, sometimes, and left to explore some European countries, spending the night with local inhabitants, asking people to open very confidential illuminated archives or drawings kept out of the light.
1971: His exhibit in Brussels at the Regency gallery organized by Michel Vockaer was a big success. Eighteen paintings were sold. There was supposed to be a series of three shows. Only the first was held. Jean-Michel Coulon preferred to use the excuse of never being ready for the next series of paintings.
1999: He returns to live in Paris in the 16th arrondissement with a nearby studio.
He did not renew close contacts with the Paris galleries. He remained discreet, almost hidden. He goes to his studio every afternoon. His work went from painting to collages, which were done on oil paintings dating from the 1950s and 1960s.
2012: His health declined and after a long hospital stay he was confined to a wheelchair. Going back and forth to the studio was no longer possible, so it remained untouched until his death. He composes collages in his apartment,
on sheets of heavy drawing paper. His spirit remaining intelligent and lively up
to the end, he was working to the very last days, still with warm and bright colors.
2014: Jean-Michel Coulon died on October 25, at the age of 94. He is buried in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne
Saint-Georges-de-Didonne () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
(Charente-Maritime), with the generations of Coulons.
Description of the Work
Jean-Michel Coulon painted in the greatest secrecy until his death at the end of 2014; he did not let anyone enter his studio and he never showed his painting, even to his relatives. Around 1,000 works were discovered the day after his death at the opening of his studio. Because he had lost the use of his legs, he had not been able to work there for several years. Due to its recent discovery and the absence of comments left by the artist, the overall vision of the work of Jean-Michel Coulon is being considered and subject to discussion. The main points of reflection concern in particular: * The positioning of Jean-Michel Coulon in the art history of the 20th century and comparing him to the painters he was close to after the Second World War (Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early life
...
, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...
, André Lanskoy
André Lanskoy (31 March 1902 – 24 August 1976) was a Russian painter and printmaker who worked in France. He is associated with the School of Paris and Tachisme, an abstract painting movement that began during the 1940s.
Biography
He wa ...
and Olivier Debré
Olivier Debré (14 April 1920 – 1 June 1999) was a French abstract painter.
Biography
It was following a visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio in 1941 that Olivier Debré, an honoured artist and member of the French Academy, moved from figura ...
, among others),
* The evolution of his style (forms, colors, material) during the 70 years of his life as an artist,
* The impact of the dramas of his life on his artistic choices, including the brutal death of his two brothers in 1944 and 1952 and the burning of his house and some of his works in 1955,
* The secret that surrounded his artistic approach,
* The opportunity to search for a key to understanding his work in letters he wrote during his travels, particularly to the United States and Italy, which have now been published with a foreword by Annie Cohen-Solal
Annie Cohen-Solal is a French historian and writer. Her work investigates the interactions between art, literature and society, including intercultural aspects. After ''Sartre : A Life'' (1987) became an international success, she was the French c ...
.
The art historian Lydia Harambourg proposed some answers in a first monograph of Jean-Michel Coulon published in June 2018.
The evolution of the work can be schematically illustrated as follows:
Exhibitions
Exhibitions over Jean-Michel Coulon's lifetime: * 1949 : Group exhibition at theJeanne Bucher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431)
* Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374)
* Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
* Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
Gallery in Paris
* 1950 : Exhibition at the Jeanne Bucher
Jeanne may refer to:
Places
* Jeanne (crater), on Venus
People
* Jeanne (given name)
* Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431)
* Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374)
* Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
* Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
Gallery in Paris
* 1950 : Group exhibition called "Young Painters from the US and France" at the Sidney Janis
Sidney Janis (July 8, 1896 – November 23, 1989) was a wealthy clothing manufacturer and art collector who opened an art gallery in New York City, New York in 1948. His gallery quickly gained prominence, for he not only exhibited work by the Abs ...
Gallery in New York, with Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early life
...
, Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...
, André Lanskoy
André Lanskoy (31 March 1902 – 24 August 1976) was a Russian painter and printmaker who worked in France. He is associated with the School of Paris and Tachisme, an abstract painting movement that began during the 1940s.
Biography
He wa ...
, Pierre Soulages
Pierre Jean Louis Germain Soulages (; 24 December 1919 – 26 October 2022) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. In 2014, President François Hollande of France described him as "the world's greatest living artist." His works are held ...
, Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...
, Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
among others.
* 1971 : Exhibition at the Régence Gallery in Brussels
Posthumous exhibits:
* 2018 : Exhibition at the Dutko Gallery in Paris, rue Bonaparte
* 2019 : Exhibition at the Maison des Arts de Châtillon
* 2019 : Exhibition at the Laurentin Gallery in Brussels
*2019 : Group exhibition A Century of Collage
' at the Rosenberg & Co gallery, New York, USA *2020 : Group exhibition ''Couleur-Lumière'' at the galerie 50, La Cadière d’Azur, France *2021 : Group exhibition ''Summer Show'' at the galerie Dutko, Paris, France *2021 : Group exhibition
Quatre Peintres Abstraits de l’Après-Guerre
' at the galerie Luz 26, Saint-Jean de Luz, France *2021 : Group exhibitio
''Petits Formats'' at the galerie 50
La Cadière d’Azur, France *2021 : Group exhibition
Collages des Années 50 aux Années 2000
' at the galerie Luz 26, Saint-Jean de Luz, France
Gallery
References
Bibliography
* Lydia Harambourg: ''Jean-Michel Coulon'', (Gourcuff-Gradenigo, 2018) * Foreword byAnnie Cohen-Solal
Annie Cohen-Solal is a French historian and writer. Her work investigates the interactions between art, literature and society, including intercultural aspects. After ''Sartre : A Life'' (1987) became an international success, she was the French c ...
, ''Lettres d'Amérique'', (Gourcuff-Gradenigo, 2019)
* Foreword by Annie Cohen-Solal
Annie Cohen-Solal is a French historian and writer. Her work investigates the interactions between art, literature and society, including intercultural aspects. After ''Sartre : A Life'' (1987) became an international success, she was the French c ...
, ''Lettres d'Italie'', (Gourcuff-Gradenigo, 2019)
* Paul Baquiast: ''Une dynastie de la bourgeoisie républicaine, les Pelletan'' (L'Harmattan, 1996)
External links
Jean-Michel Coulon, a Life in Painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulon, Jean-Michel 1920 births 2014 deaths 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters Modern painters School of Paris Abstract painters Painters from Paris French abstract artists