Georges Valmier (11 April 1885 – 25 March 1937) was a French painter. His work encompassed the great movements in the modern history of painting, starting with

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in his early years, then Cubism which he discovered when he was around 25 years old, and finally Absstractionism from 1921. He also designed sets and costumes for

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and models for fabrics, carpets, and other objects. His oil paintings do not exceed 300 in number, since Valmier died prematurely at the age of 51. His paintings were the culmination of many preparatory drafts in gouaches, multiple versions of which are works in themselves and reflect his penchant for colors and inventive shapes. Valmier was also a musician. He performed the works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, Fauré, and

Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conse ...

at major concerts and in churches, and had a decisive influence on the career of

André Jolivet André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influe ...

Life and work

Georges Valmier was born in Angoulême on 11 April 1885. He moved with his family to

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 ...

in 1890, and was brought up in an environment of love of the

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

, including music and painting. Valmier performed military service during 1904–1905, and after his return, he discovered the work of Cézanne at an exhibition of his works at the

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 f ...

in 1907. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he trained 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 ...

until 1909. He married Jeanne Bliss Pessina in 1908; their daughter Martha was born in 1912. Valmier was drafted into the military in 1914 and assigned to service in

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

, where he became acquainted with

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

, Paul Colin, and the composer Florent Schmitt.Peter Brooke, ''Albert Gleizes: For and Against the Twentieth Century'', Yale University Press, 2001
Professor of Physiology from the Faculty of Nancy in charge of the infirmary at Toul, Dr. Lambert, was more enthusiastic about his portrait by Valmier than that of Gleizes, who writes:

The portrait that he almiermade of the Doctor was excellent, a very good likeness that remained in the classical idiom. But for myself, I wanted to remain faithful to Cubism and not to play games with my own convictions. So the portrait I envisaged 'Portrait_of_an_Army_Doctor''.html" ;"title="Portrait_of_an_Army_Doctor.html" ;"title="'Portrait of an Army Doctor">'Portrait of an Army Doctor''">Portrait_of_an_Army_Doctor.html" ;"title="'Portrait of an Army Doctor">'Portrait of an Army Doctor''was a little surprising for the good doctor's habits of mind. He did not conceal his way of thinking, but he let me do what I wanted. (Albert Gleizes, ''Souvenirs'', c. 1942)Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, St. James’s London
/ref>

Upon his return to Montmartre in 1918, Valmier met Léonce Rosenberg, who soon recognized the high quality of his work and took him under contract. Rosenberg organized a solo exhibition for Valmier in 1921 at his '':fr:Galerie de L'Effort Moderne, Galerie de L'Effort Moderne''. From 1923 to 1927, under the patronage of Rosenberg, his works were regularly published in the ''Bulletin de L'Effort moderne''. In 1928, Rosenberg entrusted him with the decoration of the dining room of his apartment at ''rue de Longchamp'' in Paris, which also houses his art collection. The early 1930s marked Valmier's final transition to abstractionism. He was an early member of the board of '' Abstraction-Création'', along with Jean Arp,

Jean Hélion Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He w ...

František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech Republic, Czech Painting, painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the Abstract ...

, Leon Tutundjian, and Georges Vantongerloo, as well as the Hungarian painter Alfred Reth, with whom he jointly created works titled ''Forms in Space''. In 1936, Valmier began working on three monumental works for the decoration of the theater of the ''Palace of Railways'' for the

World Expo A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in Paris in 1937. Valmier suffered ill-health since 1932, and died on 25 March 1937 in Montmartre.

Gallery

File:GUGG Fugue.jpg, ''Fugue'', ca. 1920, oil on canvas, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum File:1919 Georges Valmier Geometrical still life I anagoria.JPG, ''Geometrical Still Life I'', 1919, oil on canvas,

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

File:1920 Georges Valmier Geometrical still life II anagoria.JPG, ''Geometrical Still Life II'', 1920, oil on canvas,

File:Georges_Valmier-Composition-Musée_des_beaux-arts_de_Nancy.jpg, ''Composition'', 1926, oil on canvas, Musée des beaux-arts de Nancy File:Georges Valmier, 1928, Les Tulipes (The Tulips), oil on canvas, 92 x 65 cm, private collection.jpg, ''Les Tulipes'' ("The Tulips"), 1928, oil on canvas, private collection File:Bulletin de l'Effort Moderne nr 1 cover.jpg, ''Bulletin de l'Effort Moderne'', No. 1, January 1924. Cover design by Georges Valmier, November 1923 File:Georges valmier, i cinque sensi, 1931.jpg, ''I Cinque Sensi'', 1931 File:Georges valmier composition abstraite115200).jpg, ''Abstract Composition'', 1931

Additional works

* ''La Fillette au piano'' ("The girl at the piano"), 1920 * ''Composition'', 1926 * ''

Le Marin Le Marin (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Maren or ) is a town and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population Points of interest In Le Marin there is Église du Marin, an old church built in 1766. It contains a marb ...

'', 1929 * ''Mouvements synchronisés'' ("Synchronized movements"), 1936 * ''Projets de décors de théâtre'' ("Theatrical scenes projects") * ''Projets de costumes de théâtre'' ("Theatrical costumes projects")

Art collections

Valmier's works are on display at several museums, including: * Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou,

Musée national d'Art moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in t ...

, Paris * Musée d'art et d'histoire,

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...

* Musée d'art, histoire et archéologie,

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. Geography The city is on the Iton river. Climate History In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named ...

* Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris * Musée Tavet-Delacour,

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dép ...

Recent exhibitions

* Melki Gallery, Paris, 1973 * Galerie Zlotowski, Paris, April – June 2006

References

* Denise Bazetoux, ''Catalogue Raisonné de l'œuvre de Georges Valmier'' ("''

Catalogue Raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

'' of the works of Georges Valmier"), Noema, 1993. * Albert Lévy (Ed.), ''Collection Décors et couleurs'' ("Collection of sets and colors") (Album No. 1 by G. Valmier) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valmier, Georges 1885 births 1937 deaths Cubist artists 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters French Impressionist painters