Josette Bournet (1905 – 1962) was a French painter and ceramicist whose work was exhibited in Paris at the Salon d'Automne, Société des Artistes Indépendants and at the Salon des Tuileries.

Biography

Josette Marguerite Téreille was born in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

, France, on 19 August 1905. She was the daughter of Philippe Téreille and Marie (known as “Marguerite”) Claussat, who were married on 8 February 1904, in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

. Both of her grandmothers were from Châteldon, in

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285. In 1925, the painter was invited by her sister Jeanne, then a student at the Arts décoratifs in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million In 1926, Josette and Louis Bournet separated and she went to Paris, leaving her daughter with her father. Josette took classes at the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière () is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the A ...

, then in 1928 joined the Society of Sacred Works, directed by the painters

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

and

George Desvallières George Desvallières (; 1861–1950) was a French painter. A native of Paris, Desvallières was a great-grandson of academician Gabriel-Marie Legouvé, and received a religion, religious upbringing. He studied at the Académie Julian with Tony ...

. From 1929, she exhibited regularly at the Salon d'Automne, of which she became a member in 1935, at the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (, ''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sa ...

and at the

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 ...

She divorced Louis Bournet and married André Leca in 1933; she had lived with him for several years. However, she continued to produce art using her first husband's surname. The couple rented a studio apartment in Paris at 19 Villa Seurat but moved frequently between Paris and Nice. In 1939, the Lecas had a son, François, who was born in Nice. During World War II, Josette and her husband were active in the resistance movement in the south of France. Josette and André, both socialist activists, were very involved in the cultural life of their time, and befriended painters and writers and formed solid friendships that included:

Hermine David Hermine Lionette Cartan David (19 April 1886 in Paris – 1 December 1970 in Bry-sur-Marne) was a French painter. Early life and education Hermine David was born in Paris in 1886. She was born out of wedlock; her mother insisted that her b ...

, Louise Hervieu,

Marcel Arland Marcel Arland (5 July 1899, Varennes-sur-Amance, Haute-Marne – 12 January 1986, Haute-Marne) was a French novelist, literary critic, and journalist. Biography With René Crevel and Roger Vitrac he founded the dadaist newspaper ''Aventu ...

Jean Follain Jean Follain (29 August 1903 – 10 March 1971) was a French writer, poet and corporate lawyer. In the early days of his career he was a member of the "Sagesse" group.

Athanase Apartis Athanase Apartis (, 24 October 1899 – 1 April 1972) was a Greek sculptor. His busts of famous people and monumental works stand in many public places in Greece. Life Athanase Apartis was born on 24 October 1899 in Smyrna, Asia Minor, son of ...

Marcel Gromaire Marcel Gromaire (; 24 July 1892 – 11 April 1971) was a French painter. He painted many works on social subjects and is often associated with Social Realism, but Gromaire can be said to have created an independent oeuvre distinct from group ...

, Édouard Goerg, Maurice Mazo,

Charles Vildrac Charles Vildrac (November 22, 1882 – June 25, 1971), born "Charles Messager",''1971 Britannica Book of the Year'' (for events of 1971), "Obituaries 1971" article, page 532, "Vildrac, Charles" item was a French libertarian playwright, poet an ...

and Mela Muter, some of whom had portraits painted by her. André Leca died in 1952 at 46, and Josette Bournet died in Nice on 12 February 1962 at 56. They are buried in the Châteldon cemetery.

Artwork

Bournet's work is figurative. She initially used oil on wood or canvas, then developed techniques of painting with glue on fiber cement, cardboard or wood, and painted with

egg tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

on hardboard, cardboard or paper. From the end of the 1940s, she also produced works in clay and ceramics. Josette Bournet's work includes many portraits of her relatives and friends, including many artists of her time, in particular Athanase Apartis, Luc Benoist, Emilie Charmy, Monique Desvallières, Jean Follain, Mateo Hernández,

Jeannine Guillou Jeannine Guillou (17 May 1909 – 27 February 1946) was a French painter. She is known to be the first partner of Nicolas de Staël. Biography Jeannine Guillou was born in Concarneau. Guillou began to paint in 1924, and in 1928, and marrie ...

(wife of

Nicolas de Staël Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles. Early li ...

), Pierre Isorni, Mela Muter,

André Salmon André Salmon (4 October 1881, Paris – 12 March 1969, Sanary-sur-Mer) was a French poet, art critic and writer. He was one of the early defenders of Cubism, with Guillaume Apollinaire and Maurice Raynal. Biography André Salmon was born i ...

, Rossane Timotheeff-Lurçat and Charles Vildrac. Josette Bournet also painted a portrait of the Italian politician

Pietro Nenni Pietro Sandro Nenni (; 9 February 1891 – 1 January 1980) was an Italian socialist politician and statesman, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and senator for life since 1970. He was a recipient of the Lenin Peace Priz ...

, at the end of the 1930s. In addition to portraits, her work includes seascapes, painted in the regions around Nice,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, still lifes and religious works. Her compositions with a religious theme can be found in the church of Châteldon (''Annonciation'', 1953), in the church of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Voyage in Nice (''Annonciation'', 1957; work first composed for the Saint-Paul seminary in Cannes), in the church of Saint-André-de-la-Roche (fresco, 1959) and in the church of Sainte-Bernadette des Garets in Vichy (''Crucifixion'' and ''Pietà'', 1961; works first composed for the church of Saint-Louis in Vichy).

Retrospective exhibitions

* Clermont-Ferrand, 15 November - 24 December 2004, Hôtel du Département: ''Eclectic elegance'' * Vichy, 57th Vernet Academy exhibition: 13 August - 18 September 2005: ''A quintessence of the figurative 20th century''. * Josette Bournet Museum: 2020–2021 exhibition, devoted to Bournet's early years of creation, between 1928 and 1938

References

{{Commons category, Josette Bournet 1905 births 1962 deaths French women painters French ceramists French women ceramists 20th-century French painters 20th-century French women painters