Bernard Cathelin (20 May 1919 – 17 April 2004) was a French painter born in Paris and a member of the

School of Paris The School of Paris (, ) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance of Paris as a centre o ...

which included

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

, Frenel,

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Dufy Dufy is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Dufy (1888–1964), French painter * Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recogn ...

and many others including Maurice Brianchon, Cathelin's teacher at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Although he received critical acclaim as early as 1950, Cathelin was not able to live solely from his painting until 1955. Since that time Cathelin has received steadily increasing recognition and has been featured in over 50 exhibitions worldwide. Throughout his life, he maintained a deep-rooted love for his country and especially for the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

, where his mother came from.

Early life

Born in Paris in 1919, Bernard Cathelin held a profound affection for his home, the Drome, his mother's place of origin, throughout his life. His educational journey included classical studies at the lycées Carnot and

Janson de Sailly Janson is the name given to a set of old-style serif typefaces from the Dutch Baroque period, and modern revivals from the twentieth century. Janson is a crisp, relatively high-contrast serif design, most popular for body text. Janson is based o ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, as well as the lycée Emile Loubet in Valence. In 1939, he enlisted in the army. Following his military service and return in 1945, Cathelin pursued studies at the French National School for further studies in the Decorative Arts. During this period, he also honed his craft in the studio of Maurice Brianchon for three years.

Art

Cathelin part of the School of Paris was famous for oil paintings and lithographs with a richness of texture and vivid colour. The three favorite themes in Cathelin's work are still life, landscapes and portraits of women. Cathelin had traveled extensively around the world. Countries such as Mexico, Russia, Japan, Italy and Spain were a source of inspiration for his creations: and ever the landscapes of the Drôme in and neighbouring Provence where he found his roots.

Honors

Elected to the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the French President of the Republic,

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

in 1995, the Musée de Valence dedicated him a retrospective of his work in the summer of 1997. This exhibition, by drawing local and worldwide visitors, established a new attendance record for the museum. In the summer of 1997, the Musée de Valence paid tribute to Bernard Cathelin with a dedicated retrospective of his work. This exhibition attracted both local and international visitors, setting a new attendance record for the museum. In 2000, the

Shanghai Art Museum China Art Museum, Shanghai (Shanghai Art Museum) is a municipal art museum of Shanghai City. It is a public welfare institution funded by the Shanghai City Culture and Tourism Bureau. The museum is housed in the China Pavilion building, formerly ...

in China organised a retrospective exhibition presenting 40 years of Bernard Cathelin's works. Bernard Cathelin died on 17 April 2004, but exhibitions are often dedicated to him in France and across the world.

Biography

References

Pascal Bonafoux Pascal Bonafoux (born 1949) is a French writer, novelist, art critic and art historian, a specialist in self-portraiture. He collaborates with various newspapers and magazines, he is the author of numerous essays dedicated to art and was a resid ...

, ''Cathelin'', 2000 Editions Ides et Calendes, Neuchâtel (Suisse) .

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20121118064433/http://www.buschlenmowatt.com/artists/bernard-cathelin * https://web.archive.org/web/20150416100736/http://www.museedevalence.fr/fr/cathelin-comme-jamais * http://www.montelimar.fr/reportages.php?galerie=56&them=4#reportage * http://www.galeriesapet.fr/Cathelin/Cathelin.htm * http://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/expositions/peinture/grand-succes-pour-la-retrospective-cathelin-a-montelimar-66199 * http://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/visite-inedite-de-latelier-du-peintre-bernard-cathelin-dans-la-drome-15025 * http://www.galerie-yoshii.com/profile.php?p=b_cathelin * http://www.etudesdromoises.com/pages/pages_revue/resumes_d_articles/cathelin.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathelin, Bernard 1919 births 2004 deaths Painters from Paris 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists