Gen Paul (July 2, 1895 – April 30, 1975) was a French painter and engraver.

Biography

Born as Eugène Paul in a house in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

on the

Rue Lepic Rue Lepic is an ancient road in the commune of Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, climbing the hill of Montmartre from the boulevard de Clichy to the place Jean-Baptiste-Clément It is an ancient road resulting of rectification an ...

painted by

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, he began drawing and painting as a child. His father died when he was only ten years old and Gen Paul was trained to work in decorative furnishings. He served in the French army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was wounded twice, losing one of his legs. During his convalescence, he returned to painting, and at

Le Bateau-Lavoir The Bateau-Lavoir ("Washhouse Boat") is the nickname of a building in the Montmartre district of the 18th arrondissement of Paris that is famous in art history as the residence and meeting place for a group of outstanding early 20th-century artist ...

he became friends with

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

who helped him a great deal. Although Paul never received any formal training, he made a living from his art for almost 60 years. While his early works reflected the influences of his friends in Montmartre, Vlaminck, Utrillo and Frank Will, he soon developed dynamic form of expressionism reflecting influences as varied as

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...

, Van Gogh, Cézanne,

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

, Velázquez and El Greco. Between 1925 and 1929, he produced many of his best works. The paintings during this phase are characterized by motion created by gestural brush strokes, daring compositions, forced perspectives, diagonals, zigzags, juxtaposed areas of abstraction and realism and flat areas of color. Unlike other expressionists of the time such as Soutine, Rouault and the German expressionists, Gen Paul's works are full of optimism – fueled by his passion for life and daily life and his desire to overcome his handicap. Due to the dynamism and motion inherent in his paintings, some consider Paul to be the first action painter, a precursor to the

abstract expressionists Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

of the 1950s. Paul died at the

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (french: Hôpital universitaire la Pitié-Salpêtrière, ) is a teaching hospital in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Part of the and a teaching hospital of Sorbonne University. History The Salpêtri� ...

in Paris on 30 April 1975 and was interred in the

Cimetière Saint-Vincent Saint-Vincent Cemetery (french: Cimetière Saint-Vincent) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. History Saint-Vincent Cemetery was opened on January 5, 1831. It was Montmartres second cemetery, built after the Cimetière du Calvai ...

in Montmartre. A great many of his works remain in private hands but a number of his important pieces can be found at museums in France and in other parts of Europe.

Career

Paul first exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the

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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1920. In 1928, his works were exhibited with those of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

. Paul began the 1930s with a serious addiction to alcohol, further complicating his chronic health problems. The paintings of 1930s reflect a more somber mood with precise lines and carefully chosen colors and an emphasis of rhythm over motion. From the 1940s through his death, Paul reverted to a style of action painting characterized by many of the elements of his work in the 1920s, but his later work never again succeeded in recapturing the innovation, emotion and expressionism of his earlier works. In 1934, he was recognized for his contributions to France and was awarded the Legion of Honor. In 1937, he was contracted to paint a large fresco for the Pavilion of Wines of France at the Paris International Exposition. In addition to painting scenes from his native Montmartre, including that of his friends, composer

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

, writer

Louis Ferdinand Celine Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...

, Paul travelled to the United States where he painted jazz and classical musicians, a subject with which he had much interest.

References

External links

Gen Paul Biography - Findlay GalleriesGalerie Roussard's Gen Paul website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Gen 1895 births 1975 deaths Painters from Paris 20th-century engravers 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters French engravers French Expressionist painters Modern painters Modern printmakers Art Informel and Tachisme painters 20th-century French printmakers People of Montmartre French military personnel of World War I