Roger Cortet (1910-1978) Still-life With A White Sculpture, Oil On Canvas Signed

Roger Cortet (1910-1978)
Still-life with a white sculpture
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right
64 x 80 cm
Framed : 70 x 85.5 cm
There is a small but inconspicuous hole in the frame groove at the fastener.
 
This rare painting by Roger Cortet is typical of his interest in the representation of objects, and here in particular he paints a black and white photograph which is one of the essential objects in this still life, as a kind of revenge for painting on photography and a questioning of his art. 
There is also clearly a subtle homage to Cubism, without being Cubist in the strict sense of the word. This work, which also evokes Art Deco painting, simplifies forms in a thoroughly modern way. It also uses very soft colours. It is in every way original and typical of this artist, with a strong presence reinforced by its size.

Roger Cortet , born in 1910 in Itxassou , in the Basque Country , and died in 1978 in Istanbul , Turkey, was most known to have been a renowned a flautist, flute teacher at the National Conservatory of Paris between 1942 and 1953 but he was also a painter.
A student at the Marracq College in Bayonne, he was spotted by one of his music teachers who sent him to take flute lessons at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris. Coming out of his class in 1931, he joined groups of artists from the Butte Montmarte where he was introduced to painting. Over the next 9 years, he made a living from his artistic activity in the city of Paris .
A brilliant musician, he was recruited in 1942 by the conservatory which trained him, teaching in particular to students such as Peter-Lukas Graf, Swiss flautist.
Eager to travel, he resigned from the conservatory in 1953 and traveled the continent of South America (Brazil) and Asia before finally settling in Istanbul where he ended his days as a music teacher at Galatasaray high school. . He wrote in particular a few poems dedicated to the Basque Country, including Adieu Saint-Jean-de-Luz .