André Fougeron (1 October 1913 – 10 September 1998) was a French painter. A representative of the ''

Nouveau Réalisme A ''nouveau'' ( ), or ''vin (de) primeur'', is a wine which may be sold in the same year in which it was harvested. The most widely exported ''nouveau'' wine is French wine Beaujolais ''nouveau'' which is released on the third Thursday of ...

'' movement'','' the main subjects of his paintings were the themes of everyday life and social struggle of the French people.

Biography

Fougeron was born into a working-class family and himself was a metal worker. A self-taught painter from a young age, he sent a painting to the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

in 1928. In the 1930s, alongside artists such as

Maurice Estève Maurice Estève, (2 May 1904, Culan (Cher) – 29 June 2001), was a French painter. Biography Maurice Estève was born in the French town of Culan (Département Cher) on 2 May 1904. In 1913 he moved to Paris with his parents, where he soon b ...

and

Édouard Pignon Édouard Pignon (12 February 1905 – 14 May 1993) was a French painter of the School of Paris. Biography Pignon was born into the family of a miner involved in the workers' movement. From a young age he was inspired by the paintings of Franci ...

in particular, fought for the establishment of the unemployment fund for artists and craftsmen and, jointly, with the Union of unemployed committees in the Paris region, for the increase unemployment benefit. After serving in the military, he returned to Paris and joined

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...

's Maison de la culture movement with his friend Boris Taslitzky. Inspired by

Pablo 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 ...

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

, Fougeron created many paintings depicting the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and in support of the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In 1939, Fougeron joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

and remained a member until his death. Being called for the military again after the German invasion, he was prisoner on the Belgian front but managed to escape and reach the free zone before resettling in Paris, then, in 1943, in Montrouge, where he created a studio. He transformed this workshop into a clandestine printing press. An active resistance fighter in the artistic community, he was secretary general of the National Arts Front, the artistic section of the National Front. At the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, Fougeron worked the office of Fine Arts until November 1944. He was then one of the favorite artists of the Communist Party. He was recognized by the party as one of the "leaders of the new realism" with other artists such as Taslitzky. He exhibited in numerous events organized by the Communist Party from 1948 to 1954. As the PCF started to change its cultural policy from the late 1950s and distance itself from

workerism Workerism is a political theory that emphasizes the importance of or glorifies the working class. Workerism, or , was of particular significance in Italian left-wing politics, being largely embraced in Italian political groups ranging from Ital ...

, Fougeron's popularity and influence dwindled. Fougeron moved towards a more critical figurative style and mixed influences, borrowing from photography, hyperrealism and comics, without abandoning his political commitment and depictions of current events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fougeron, André 20th-century French painters Nouveau réalisme artists Communist members of the French Resistance