Marcel Mouly (February 6, 1918 – January 7, 2008) was a French artist who painted in an abstract style.

Early life

Mouly was born in Paris, France, on February 6, 1918. His interest in art developed in grade school. Mouly was first sent to drawing class as a form of punishment. At age 13, he left school to work, first as a beach vendor, then as an apprentice to a local dentist and later for a wine merchant delivering heavy baskets of wine. In 1935, while still employed by the wine merchant, Mouly began taking night classes in the arts at French Academies, the Cours Montparnasse 80, where he remained until he served in military duty during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

beginning in 1938. After France fell to Germany in June 1940, Mouly became a civilian again, and earned a living working odd jobs. Mouly befriended an artist named Bernard la Fourcade, and the two established a studio in Auteuil. During a trip to

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 ...

in 1942, they were stopped by German officials and questioned for their lack of travel documentation, which was then required by the

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 ...

government. Mouly and la Fourcade were arrested shortly after their return to Paris, and mistakenly imprisoned as spies. During his solitary confinement, Mouly solidified his plans to become an artist.

Career

Shortly after being released from prison, Mouly, along with fellow artist

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 ...

, rented the Boulogne studio of famed modernist sculptor

Jacques Lipchitz Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Lithuanian-born French-American Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, domi ...

(1891–1973). Mouly learned from Lipchitz, particularly about the style of

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. By the mid-1940s, Mouly's art began to gain notoriety from his peers and collectors. In 1945, his paintings were exhibited alongside the paintings of

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

in the Salon d'Automne in Paris. The following year he moved to La Ruche where he became friends with

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 ...

Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

, and Klein, and exhibited at the

Salon du Mai The Salon de Mai (the '' May Salon'') is a group of French artists which formed in a café on the Rue Dauphine in Paris in 1943 during the German occupation of France.Ferrier, Jean-Louis. (Ed.) (1999) ''Art of the 20th Century''. Paris: Chene-Hach ...

. Mouly's first one-person exhibition was held in 1949 at the Libraire Bergamasque. Mouly's style was influenced by the deep, bold colors typically used in

's fauvist works, and by the

. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Mouly created many

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

Fame and honors

Marcel Mouly's work has been exhibited all over the world, including in the permanent collections of more than 20 museums, such as the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in Japan, the Museum of Geneva, the Museum of Modern Art in Helsinki, and Paris' Bibliotheque Nationale. He has also been the subject of numerous books, and recognized by such honors as the Chevalier de L'Orde des Arts et Lettres (1957) and the Premier Prix de Lithographie (1973). Marcel Mouly died on January 7, 2008, at age 89. "His art is pure and direct in its message," said art historian and writer Joseph Jacobs. "It is an art about beauty and life, and art roots firmly planted in the

School of Paris The School of Paris (, ) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance of Paris as a centre o ...

Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

, Rouault,

Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (; 4 April 1876 - 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauvism, Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 190 ...

, Vuillard and

Dufy Dufy is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Dufy (1888–1964), French painter * Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recogn ...

are his patrimony, and he has carried their mantel with unflagging dedication."

Exhibitions

*1990 - Atelier Gourdon, Palm Springs *1996 - Musee de Shanghai, China *1997 - Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Hong Kong *1997 -

Park West Gallery Park West Gallery is a commercial art gallery based in Southfield, Michigan, United States. Park West Gallery claims to be the largest private art gallery in the world, but that is largely disputed, and that it has sold hundreds of works of a ...

, Michigan *1997 - Le Domaine Perdu Galerie Meyral Perigerd, with his son Pierre, a sculptor *1998 - Philipps Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida *1999 - Opera Gallery, Paris *1999 - University Museum, Carbondale, Illinois with Pierre Mouly *1999 - Galerie Nolan Rankin, Houston, Texas with Pierre Mouly *2000 - Galerie du Chateau, Noirmoutier, France *2000 - Park West Gallery, Michigan *2005 - Chok Som Bo Kum Pao Gallery, Guangzhou *2006 -

Opera Gallery Opera Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery presenting work by established and emerging artists of the 20th and 21st centuries at 16 locations. Founded in Paris in 1994 by Gilles Dyan, Opera Gallery now has sixteen exhibition sp ...

, Paris *2007 - National Fine Art Canada

Collections

*The Centre Pompidou, France *Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouly, Marcel 1918 births 2008 deaths 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French modern painters Fauvism