Pierre Theron - Bordeaux School - "apples And Figs" (1996) - Oil On Canvas Signed, 80x80 Cm

Pierre THERON (Nérac 1918 – Mérignac 2001) “Apples and figs” (1996) Oil on canvas signed lower right, titled and dated on the back L: 80 cm x H: 80 cm Biography of Pierre Theron (excerpt from catalog of Bordelaise paintings 01 /2024 - Briscadieu Enchères) Pierre Théron was born in 1918 in Nérac. In 1925, he arrived with his family in Bordeaux, where his father was appointed port commander, and there discovered port life, essential in his work. In 1936, he entered the Bordeaux School of Fine Arts, where he became a student of Roganeau, and of René Buthaud. In 1942, he joined the Beaux-Arts of Paris. : Jean Dupas and André Lhote From the latter, he learned the construction of the painting. He will always keep the sense of solid compositions, the art of giving architecture to an image. repeat After 1945, his style evolved: he moved from realistic landscapes to images relating to a sort of “poetic reality”. A new way asserts itself, harsher and without concessions, dark despite raw colors. A manner which fully fits into the Paris School of the post-war period. In the 1950s, Pierre Théron was as much Parisian as he was from Bordeaux. He exhibited in various Salons and the State bought paintings from him. In 1957, he received the Grand Prix des Beaux-Arts from the City of Paris. A huge worker, he divides himself between easel paintings, which he sells to a clientele of amateurs, and commissions for large decorations. He also created numerous tapestry cartoons for Aubusson. Part of his work, under the reign of "one percent artistic in public constructions" (established in 1951), will be devoted to canvassing administrations and participating in calls for tenders, making him one of the main contributors to this system in France. Its first major project will be in Bordeaux. In 1950, SAFT entrusted him with the creation of sets evoking the work and games of Aquitaine. In two years, the artist completed nearly 200 meters of paintings, imbued with the modernist lessons of André Lhote, but also Italian primitives. The vigorous gouache sketches that Théron painted in the 1950s seem to show a fiery temperament. However, the man did not fit into the myth of the bohemian artist. A great gentleman, always elegant, courteous, calm and worldly, he was also incredibly methodical, numbering his paintings with precision. At the end of the 1960s, Théron achieved recognition with a commission for the decor of the Maison du Paysan, an ambitious building which was the pride of Chaban-Delmas, then prime minister. He equipped the building with an exterior mosaic, paintings and large tapestries. The decades that followed would be less auspicious. He embodies a period - the fifties - which fell into disgrace. Neither classic in a city that loves the 18th century, nor contemporary, he is disdained by new connoisseurs who only judge his recent productions and ignore the artist he was before. A posthumous revenge will come at the beginning of the 21st century, with several exhibitions, the recognition of numerous collectors and that of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bordeaux which exhibited his powerful gouaches with industrial subjects.