Lucien Jonas 1880-1947 Venice The Rialto Bridge

Lucien Jonas was born on April 8, 1880 in Anzin. From an early age, he proved to be so good at drawing that his mother encouraged his budding vocation. In 1895, a student at the Lycée de Valenciennes, he won his first prizes. Bachelor of Arts in June 1898, he then follows full-time, the courses of the Academies of Valenciennes, the following year, he therefore enters the School of Fine Arts in Paris, in the studio of Léon Bonnat, and remains 13 Dragon Street. In 1901, Léon Bonnat appointed him "massier" of his studio. He also makes him share his admiration for Delacroix, Ingres, Géricault and Goya. From 1902, Jonas also worked in the studio of Albert Maignan, with whom he established a sincere friendship. At the same time, he met Harpignies who quickly showed affection for the man he considered his protege. He will be able to develop in him his attraction for nature, and will encourage him to paint "on the ground". In 1903, he moved to 3 rue Lecourbe, in a studio on one level, he used the vast terrace to paint outdoors. In 1904, he took advantage of his stays in Anzin and the vast warehouses of the distillery to paint large compositions, inspired by the life around him. A mining drama (“Les Consolations”) won him the silver medal at the 1905 Salon. Three other prizes, the Chenavard, Trémont and Stillmann prizes, encouraged him a little more. Second Grand Prix of Rome on July 21, 1905, he stands out all the more because there was no first Grand Prix that year... He obtains the gold medal at the 1907 Salon but is out of competition with his composition “Les marguilliers”. A travel grant granted by the Ministry of Fine Arts is awarded to him, which allows him to travel from museum to museum across Europe. On May 2, 1908, he married Suzanne Bedorez, who would truly become his source of inspiration. The galleries then in vogue – Bernheim, Petit, etc. – reveal it to the Parisian public. He became a sought-after portrait painter who, however, was not afraid to present large compositions, oil or charcoal, at exhibitions: "The tyrant" and "The parade" (1910), "The cavalcade of the Incas" (1913). For "La consultation", presented at the Salon of 1911, the Superior Council of Fine Arts awarded him the National Prize. That same year, 1911, he stayed in Menton, in a villa next to that of Harpignies. The following year, he joined his old master in his property of Yvonne, in Saint-Privé. Then, he continued his research on Velasquez, Rembrandt and Frans Hals in Berlin, Kassel and especially Dresden; he stays in Vienna and Prague. In 1914, he exhibited from April 24 to May 30, 248 works at the Allard gallery, 20 rue des Capucines, in Paris. An ever-increasing need for space prompted Jonas to acquire a Porte Dauphine house, the top floor of which would be devoted to his workshops. In 1919, on his return to civilian life, he embarked on intimate outdoor scenes. From 1932, he traveled again to Italy and stayed in Savoy and Nice. In 1933, he established his first contact with the Banque de France: this was followed by the creation of a series of banknotes put into circulation from 1939. In 1935, another trip to Italy, he also obtained the "engraving medal of honor at the Salon des Artistes Français and produced twenty-two mounted canvases for the Town Hall of Anzin. He also created the decorations for the Belgian coal mines pavilion for the Universal Exhibition in Brussels and decorated three other pavilions as part of the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1937. In 1946, JONAS was very ill and exhausted. In August 1947, at La Flèche, he painted his last outdoor scenes in the garden of his parents-in-law. He returned to Paris, where he died on September 20. He is buried at La Flèche. The Carnavalet museum in Paris devotes an exhibition to him in 2003, as well as the museum of fine arts of Valenciennes in 2006. The artist's attachment to the city of his youth however greatly exceeded the only recognition given to his masters.