artist/ BAZAINE

FRANCE

Bazaine (1904-2001), decorator, illustrator, painter and a major figure in the New School of Paris, left his mark on the art of our time.
He studied at the Beaux Arts in the studio of sculptor Paul Landowski, but abandoned sculpture to devote himself to painting in 1924. His early work was influenced by Marcel Gromaire (cloisonné and vertical lines), but Bazaine gradually abandoned figuration. In 1941, Bazaine organized the “Jeunes peintres de tradition française” exhibition, which brought together Bissière, Bertholle, Manessier, Le Moal, Lapicque, Singier, Pignon and others, and played a key role in defining the mutations undergone by an entire generation.

Gradually, under the influence of nature and a slow maturation process, Bazaine’s work was transformed: the form, then the weave, exploded, the chromatic palette changed, then reduced to a few tones to simplify his vision.
In his own words, “it’s very exciting to express light, its density and movement, with a few strokes. I became less and less sensitive to contours and more and more aware of a certain dynamism in the outside world”.