René Margotton (1915 – 2009) was a French
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
of the
School of Paris
The School of 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 of Paris as a centre o ...
, one of the last cubists of the 20th century. He was born in
Roanne
Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France.
It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, in 1915, and died in 2009. He is also the father of
Bernard Romain
Bernard Romain son of René Margotton(born in Roanne, on 11 February 1944) is a French painter and sculptor. Author of the coloring of the tallest cliff of Europe in Normandy (Le Tréport) to commemorate the bicentenary of the French Revolution ...
Biography
He studied at the
École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts
École or Ecole may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...
of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and later with
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

friend of
Maurice Utrillo
Maurice Utrillo (; born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955) was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. From the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of ...
and
Bernard Buffet
Bernard Buffet (; 10 July 1928 – 4 October 1999) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. An extremely prolific artist, he produced a varied and extensive body of work. His style was exclusively figurative and is often classified as Exp ...
. He has exhibited extensively in Paris at the Salon de l'Art Libre, Salon des Independants, Salon de Printemps, Salon de l'Ecole Francaise, Salon de la Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and Salon "Les Grands et les Jeunes d'Aujourd' hui." He participated in a show of French Masters in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. He also exhibited with the French Young Painters in Geneva, Brussels, Finland, Germany, Canada, London, and Denmark. His first one-man show in America was held at Newman Galleries in 1965.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor at the Marine Exhibition of
Musée national de la Marine
The Musée national de la Marine (; "National Navy Museum") is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort ( Musée National de la Ma ...
in 1959, the Grand Prix of the city of Sarreguemines in 1959, the Grand Prix of Marine Painting of the Museum of Narbonne in 1959, the Grand Prix of the Opal Coast in 1959, the Grand Prix of "Echo de la Finance," and the Grand Prix of the Palette Francaise.

His work is represented in the collections museum of the cities of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Narbonne
Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
,
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, and Sarreguemines. His paintings can be found in many prominent private collections throughout the United States and Europe, including that of the Swiss Consulate in Paris. The King of Cambodia purchased two paintings by Margotton for his country's Modern Museum.
He was awarded the
Gemmail Prize (a
Stained glass
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 ...
Art) in 1979 at the
Religious art
Religious art is a visual representation of religious ideologies and their relationship with humans. Sacred art directly relates to religious art in the sense that its purpose is for worship and religious practices. According to one set of definit ...
International Biennial and was named "painter of the light". Between 1989 and 1993 he created many stained glasses windows in France for
Church of St. Martin in Valaurie,
Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours
The Basilica of Saint Martin is a Catholic basilica dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, over whose tomb it was built. It is located in Tours, France.
The first basilica was established here in the 5th century (consecrated in 471) on the site ...
, and
Basilica of St. Pius X in
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...
where 20 gemmails ("the way of light") will be made, on the appearances of
Bernadette Soubirous
Bernadette Soubirous, Sisters of Charity of Nevers, SCN (; ; ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes (religious name, in religion Sister Marie-Bernarde), was a miller's daughter from Lourdes ( in Occitan), in the Dep ...
Technique
Although Margotton used watercolors early on in his career, he later experimented with oils and continued to work almost exclusively in that medium. He often conceived his work according to the rigorous laws of composition, using an almost architectural foundation of solidly constructed volumes.
Margotton's paintings, largely landscapes and figurative subjects, are simple and direct at first glance. A closer look, however, reveals his tendency to render the concrete abstract, and to formulate a symbolic, even metaphysical myth from that which is real and present. With powerful expression and vibrant color, Margotton combines a vigor and vitality which demonstrates not only his strong understanding of the relationship between form and color, but also his physical and spiritual expression of life and the visual world.
Museum René Margotton
A mediaeval fort with embellishments dating from the 15th and 17th century, the entire construction a classified historical monument, the Bishops' Palace of
Bourg-Saint-Andéol
Bourg-Saint-Andéol (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône Valley in southern France.
Geography
It lies directly along the river Rhône at the southeast end of the department south of the smaller town Viviers, from P ...
is one of the largest and most complex in the
Vivarais
Vivarais (; ; {{cite web , url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatv.html , title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter V) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the ''département'' of Ardèche, named after its capital Vivier ...
region. Inside the museum René Margotton, the "Painter of Light"'s sacred works, displayed in a 19th-century neo-gothic chapel, and also in the "mystery" room. He was awarded a major international painting prize. As a whole, no fewer than 52 works are visible.
External links
Official website René MargottonOfficial website of the Bishops' Palace of Bourg-Saint-Andéol sur ''francemondeculture.com''.
*
Museum of Art USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margotton, Rene
1915 births
2009 deaths
École des Beaux-Arts alumni
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
French male painters
21st-century French painters
21st-century French male artists
People from Roanne