Henri Clément Serveau, also known as Clément-Serveau (29 June 1886 – 8 July 1972), was a French painter, designer, engraver and illustrator. Clément-Serveau produced works in a realist manner early on, but soon became interested in the new movements. He was influenced by his friend

Louis Marcoussis Louis Marcoussis, formerly Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus, (1878 or 1883, Łódź – October 22, 1941, Cusset) was a painter and engraver of Polish origin who lived in Paris for much of his life and became ...

and experimented with

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, utilising geometric patterns to give the illusion of form and space. Later in his career he turned toward

abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or " concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abst ...

with a post-cubist stance. He designed banknotes for the

Banque de France The Bank of France (French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the ...

and produced large

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s and participated in numerous French and international exhibitions.

Life

Clément-Serveau studied successively from 1904 to 1914 at the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profil ...

and

École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French '' grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scien ...

under

Luc-Olivier Merson Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 – 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs. Biography Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artist ...

, in Paris. He began exhibiting at the 1905

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

and then participated at the Salons des Artistes Français,

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

, and

Salon des Tuileries The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painters Albert Besnard and Bessie Davidson, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others. The first year's e ...

. From 1907 to 1909 he served as a soldier in the 15th Battalion in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mos ...

. In 1913, while still at Remiremont, the 21-year-old married Yvette Hindermeyer (then 17 years of age). There he would realize many paintings, landscapes and portraits. In 1919 he became art director of Ferenczi & fils (Le Livre moderne illustré publisher), where he illustrated many books (seventy-eight) using the technique of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

was the literary director for several years. He also participated on thirty other books, and received various medals for his work: medal of honor in 1920, bronze in 1921, silver in 1926 and gold at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1929. Thanks to his mentor

, he was able to design banknotes for the

. From 1956 to 1970, he designed forty-two French and foreign postage stamps. In Paris in September 1933, he married Sara Sophie Wisoume (born in Smolensk, 1903). After a trip to Greece in 1934, Clement Serveau devoted himself to post-cubism, participating in numerous exhibitions including the Salon des artistes français. He became Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1936. He also produced several

s and

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

s including a three-by-six-meter painting for the ''lycée de

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

'', where he was once a student. He directed the ''l'École de fresques'' of l'

, and decorated the ''Pavillon du Tourisme'' at the 1937

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the M ...

(Paris), now at the Pavillon de la Ville de Paris; Musées d'Art Moderne, Paris. In 1954 he realized a fresco for the Cité Ouvrière du Laboratoire Débat, Garches. He also executed mural decorations for the ''Plan des anciennes enceintes de Paris'' in the Musée Carnavalet. He participated in numerous exhibitions in France, Sweden, London, the United States, and Canada. Clément-Serveau died in Paris on 8 July 1972. He was buried in

Bourbonne-les-Bains Bourbonne-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France in the region Grand Est.

, where he owned a house on Rue Vellonne. A room in the local museum (Musée municipal de Bourbonne-les-Bains) is dedicated to him.

Examples of graphic work

* Banknote: 5 francs Berger * Banknote: 300 francs, 1945 * Banknote: 1000 francs Minerve et Hercule * Stamps
Listed in sale-date order

Works

* ''A stylized pagan scene with a huntress raising her bow'', 1928 * ''Parades des Oiseaux'', 1930 * ''Anémones et pois de senteur'', 1932, Musée de la Société Historique et Archéologique, Haute-Marne, Langres * ''Karoti Grece, Le chemin de la Fontain (Paysage Grec)'', 1934, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Aphrodite et stellio'', 1934, purchase by l'Etat Français in 1935 * ''Route à Chio'', 1935, purchase by l'Etat Français in 1936 * ''Rêve'', 1946, purchase in 1947 b
Musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
re
Musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
/ref> * ''Un dimanche de pèlerinage à la Ghraïba de Djerba (Tunisie) '', 1953 * ''Femmes au bain'' * ''Déesses antiques flottant sur des nuages'' * ''Nature morte à la table et chaises'' * ''La Favorite'', Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France

References

External links

Paris, musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou

Joconde, Portail des collections des musées de France. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen

Clément Serveau, French Banknotes

Clément Serveau, ''La Chemise verte'', oil on canvas, 92 x 60.2 cm, Christie's Paris, 24 May 2006

Clément Serveau, ''Le Bordel'', oil on canvas, 90 x 95 cm, Christie's Paris, 12 December 2005

Clément Serveau, ''Le pot bleu à la fenêtre'', oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cm, Christie's Paris, 12 December 2005

Clément Serveau, ''Déesses antiques flottant sur des nuages'', oil on canvas, 138 x 175 cm, Tajan, Paris, 9 June 2011

Agence photographique de la réunion des Musées nationaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serveau, Clement 1886 births 1972 deaths Painters from Paris Modern painters Cubist artists 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters School of Paris Currency designers