René Thomsen 1897-1976, Large

Oil on canvas signed lower right. 87 x 114cm. René Thomsen, French painter and engraver from the School of Paris, born in Paris in 1897, died in Versailles in 1976. Son of a sculptor friend of Doctor Paul Gachet, protector of Vincent van Gogh. His mother who became, divorced, the secretary of Henri Barbusse, then of Cécile Sorel, introduced him to Théophile Steinlen. He was a student of Louis Anquetin and Fernand Cormon at the National School of Fine Arts. Mobilized during the First World War, he did not stop drawing and painting Scenes of soldiers. A set of these drawings was part of the collection of the painter and sculptor Fernand Belmonte who donated it to the town hall of Méry-sur-Marne where it is kept today. Another theme that Thomsen addresses at the same time is that of the Daughters of Joy. In 1919, a time of great material insecurity when he met Maurice Loutreuil, Manuel Ortiz de Zarate, Jules Pascin and Amedeo Modigliani, he discovered the Académie Colarossi with Chaïm Soutine and Isaac Dobrinsky. A member of the Salon d'Automne in 1921, he received encouragement from Louis Vauxcelles, Élie Faure and Joachim Gasquet. François Fosca, in 1927, considered his painting "Le repos" as the best work of the Salon des Indépendants. In 1931-1932, René Thomsen stayed at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid as a winner of the Velasquez Prize and a scholarship holder from the city of Paris. Based in Paris, he criss-crossed France from Cayeux-sur-Mer to Avignon, visiting Spain and Morocco (the city of Fez in particular). René Thomsen also writes: we note, signed and published by him in 1968, a study on Édouard Manet. The town hall of Versailles honored him with the city's painting medal. Ref 2211.LP53.34PR Do not hesitate to visit our site and its many offers: https://www.lecentrevilleantiquites.com/, to contact us, to make us an offer.