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 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 a ...

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 Fr ...

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 Spani ...

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 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, in Paris. He began exhibiting at the 1905 Salon des Indépendants 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 f ...

, 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' ...

. 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 single ...

at Remiremont. 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 Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only t ...

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 Luc-Olivier Merson, 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 frescos including a three-by-six-meter painting for the ''lycée de

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontaineblea ...

'', 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, 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