Jean Castanier (1903 - 1972) Self-portrait

Self-portrait
Oil on cardboard
50 x 37.4 cm
Signed lower right: Castanier

Jean Castanier was born in the province of Girona, then influenced by the last ups and downs of Catalan modernism. He left Catalonia in 1925 to join Paris and found Spanish artistic figures with whom he became friends. Dali and Bunuel in particular gave him a role in “l'Age d'Or” (1930). Slightly balding, a pair of glasses perched on a hooked nose, a determined look, a “fleshy lip”, our painting is the realistic self-portrait of a mature man, brushed with a lively touch by Castanier, known as “The Catalan”. A wonderful jack of all trades, “Catalan Legend”, he stands out in set decoration, painting, production and staging. Deeply republican, founding member of the Octobre Group, he listened to JeanRenoir and participated in many of his films, Boudu saved from the waters (1932), La Nuit du carrefour (1933), Chotard et Cie (1933) and mainly Le crime by Monsieur Lange (1935) of which he is co-writer with Jacques Prévert. He directed two films, French Cancan (1954) and Elena et les Hommes (1956) and continued to collaborate with Jean Renoir, while leading a prolific artistic activity throughout his life.