Artists Biography
Raoul Dufy
French 1877-1923In watching the comings and goings of holidaymakers on the jetty in Trouville, he observed that the splashes of colour of an object passing quickly in front of the retina remain imprinted on it for longer than the outlines of the object itself. This was the origin of the encroachment of colour on the line in Dufy’s paintings. From 1920, these characteristics, which make his paintings so instantly recognisable, were introduced into works such as L'avenue du Bois de Boulogne (The Avenue du Bois de Boulogne) (1928) and Cérès au bord de la mer (Ceres by the sea) (1928). Dufy felt that colours had their own lives, going beyond the object. They are what give structure to his paintings, forming more or less broad areas on which the painter draws in the various components.
“La Fée Électricité”
In 1936-1937, in Paris, Raoul Dufy produced La Fée Électricité for the Electricity Pavilion at the International Exhibition. This allegory retraces the history of light, bringing together all the painter’s favourite themes: countryside, seaside, mythology, music, etc. ... The work, which was for a long time the largest painting in the world (624 m²) can now be seen at the Paris Museum of Modern Art.
He carried on working, despite a painful, debilitating illness. In 1952, he was awarded the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennial. In 1953, he settled in Forcalquier, where he died that year. Three months later, the Paris Museum of Modern Art organised his first great retrospective.
Works by this artist…
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Saint Jeannet
( ref : 13961 ) -
Turfistes et Jockeys
( ref : 13960 ) -
La Promenade Au Bois De Boulogue
( ref : 13959 )