Rodolphe Caillaux -unloading Tuna In Saint Jean De Luz - Basque Country - Oil On Canvas 44x53

Rodolphe CAILLAUX (1904 – 1989) “Unloading tuna at Saint-Jean-de-Luz” Oil on canvas signed upper left, titled on the back L: 44.5 cm x H: 53.5 cm Rodolphe Caillaux, born in 1904 in Paris and died in 1989 in Fontenay-lès-Briis, is a French expressionist painter, of the Paris school. Born near Montmartre, Rodolphe Caillaux is known for his landscape paintings, his seascapes, his portraits and his scenes of genre, especially bullfights. Familiar with the Basque Country which he often painted, he also created Maurice Ravel's medal for the Paris Mint. A street bears his name in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. After having painted music hall in one man shows, Rodolphe Caillaux made his debut as a painter at the Salon des Indépendants in 1928, at the same time as Alexandre Calder, Otto Freundlich, Jean Hélion, Georges Papazoff and Joaquin Torres Garcia. He entered the Salon d Autumn in 1932. Rodolphe Caillaux took a decisive turn during the war by settling in Pau. It was during this period that he fell in love with the Basque Country, which became an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In Pau, he helped organize the Salon d'Automne Béarnais. He returned to Paris in 1947. Based in the Montmartre-aux-artistes estate, Rodolphe Caillaux nevertheless remained close to Pau since he was inducted into the Royal Winery of Jurançon in 1953 with the rank of dignitary. Elected that same year as a member of the Salon des Indépendants Committee, he was its vice-president from 1955 to 1956. From 1957, he took charge of a group at the Salon Comparisons of which he became president following Andrée Bordeaux- Le Pecq. It was as president of the Salon Comparisons that he was named knight of the Legion of Honor. Rodolphe Caillaux was a member of the Salon d'Automne in 1957 and Honorary President of the Salon Comparisons.