Maurice BRIANCHON French, 1899-1979

OVERVIEW

Maurice Brianchon was born in 1899. He began his official art training at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in 1917. Early public recognition of his talent came when, at the age of 23, he was appointed a member of the committee of the Salon d'Automne. By 1934 Brianchon's career was established. The 1950s brought Brianchon national and international acclaim. The Musee des Arts Decoratifs presented a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Palais du Louvre in 1951. His first American exhibition was hosted by David Findlay Galleries in New York in 1959. In the following two decades Brianchon began spending less time in Paris and more time at his country home in Perigord which eventually affected his paintings. The dynamic images of horse races, theater stages and street scenes painted by the young artist enamored with city life were gradually replaced by the equally beautiful, though more relaxed and contemplative, landscapes and still lifes of a mature artist savoring his elder years in the country. Brianchon continued to exhibit regularly in the art-centers of the world until his death in 1979.