Jean Cluseau-lanauve (1914-1997) Mauzens Périgord Dordogne Sarlat

Jean CLUSEAU-LANAUVE
(Périgueux 1914 - Paris 1997)
The town of Mauzens
Two drawings in grease pencil and ink on paper,
H. 150 mm; L. 240 mm each
Workshop Stamp. Located and dated below "Mauzens. 23.7.79"

Provenance: Artist's studio

Jean Cluseau-Lanauve was born in 1914 in Périgueux into a family from the department. It is here that he "meets" the arts, pushed by his parents in this way, before leaving to study them in Paris where he will settle. He entered in 1933, to leave it in a short time before the war, during which he was moreover taken prisoner in Germany. A formation of lithographer and draftsman will trace his beginnings of career, to become in the years 50 to 80, a figure recognized as much by his contemporary artists, as by a fervent clientele.

Although the head of the school in post-war Paris, Cluseau-Lanauve did not abandon his native Périgord. He has a house there near Les Eyzies where he sets up a small workshop giving him a view of the colors of this land he loves so much. His first painting presented at the Salon of French Artists, in 1935, is a Landscape of Périgord. It will also be bought by the state.

This dear Périgord, Cluseau-Lanauve permanently replaces it in his works, which he creates from sketches taken on the motif. Many notebooks of these sketches have been scattered since his death and are found today on the art market, sheet by sheet. His oils, which became cubist in the 1950s, are images with clean lines seeking only to bring out the idealized subject, by luminous facets.

These are two sheets from a sketchbook devoted to the artist's wanderings in Périgord during the years 1978 to 1980. The painter never moved without a notebook and a few colors, allowing him to prepare his most important canvases. The village of Mauzens near Sarlat is represented in the cubist manner of the artist he loved so much during the second part of his career.

The two sketches are presented in the same modern frame. Many other pieces from this series are in our collection. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.