Pierre Eugene Montezin

French 1874-1946

Pierre Eugène Montézin was born on 16 October 1874 in Paris and died on 10 July 1946 in Moelan-sur-Mer. He was a French post-impressionist painter, influenced by Claude Monet.

Born into a wealthy family, his father was a lace designer and created his patterns, which were successful at this time when the lace trade was flourishing. All Montézin’s free time was devoted to hikes and he enjoyed hunting and fishing which often times took him far from Paris.

His work is mostly influenced by the ones of Claude Monet, but he especially inherited his inclination for Nature from his father. Indeed, Montézin has a special taste for fresh air, countryside landscapes and open fields strolls. Deeply in love with natural things, Montézin is renowned for his smooth and true coloured landscapes.

Pierre Montézin’s father, a lace designer, found him a job with a design company, where he soon devoted himself to murals. Strongly influenced by the theories of Impressionism, he later embarked on a career as an artist in his own right. In about 1903 he came into contact with Quost who made him work on his drawing and gave him a taste for painting. He enlisted in 1914 for the duration of the war, and took up painting again on his return.

He lived in Dreux and Moret for a year, and spent his holidays there from then on. Montézin was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1923 and in 1940 was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, taking the place left vacant by Edouard Vuillard’s death.

Montézin submitted a work to the Salon des Artistes Français for the first time in 1893, but it was rejected, as were all his subsequent attempts for ten years. It was not until 1903 that he was accepted, winning a third-class medal in 1907 and a second-class medal in 1910. He also exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français after World War I and was awarded the Rosa Bonheur prize in 1920.

In 1933, he was unanimously elected president of the jury of the Salon des Artistes Français. During the taking office ceremony, 237 paintings are exhibited. He exhibited in 1936 at the Journal gallery, avenue des Champs-Elysées, in 1938 at the Durand-Ruel gallery, avenue de Friedland, and in 1943 at the Raphaël Gérard gallery.