Pierre Courthion (1902-1988) was a Swiss art critic and historian.
Courthion was educated at the
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...
and was awarded a scholarship to study painting at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
in Paris.
At the Louvre, he did his doctorate on the painter,
Jean-Étienne Liotard
Jean-Étienne Liotard (; 22 December 1702 – 12 June 1789) was a Swiss painter, art connoisseur and dealer. He is best known for his portraits in pastel, and for the works from his stay in Turkey. A Huguenot of French origin and citizen of the ...
.
In 1941, Courthion interviewed
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...
, but after months of difficult negotiations, Matisse refused to have the resulting book published, just a few weeks before it was due to come out.
The "lost" interview was not published until 2013.
His papers are held at the
Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". in Los Angeles, California.
Publications
*''Panorama de la peinture française contemporaine''
*''D'une palette à l'autre : Mémoires d'un critique d'art''
*''La Peinture flamande : de Van Eyck à Bruegel''
*''Bonnard : peintre du merveilleux''
*''Soutine : peintre du déchirant''
*''Les Impressionnistes''
*''Le Visage de Matisse''
*''La Vie de Delacroix''
*''Delacroix : journal et correspondance''
*''Paris : de sa naissance à nos jours''
*''D'une palette à l'autre: mémoires d'un critique d'art'', autobiography, 2004
References
1902 births
1988 deaths
Swiss art critics
Swiss art historians
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