Edouard Pignon
Bully (Francia) 1905 - Parigi, 1993
In 1984 at the Picasso Museum in Antibes he exhibits all the works of the series dedicated to the great master and friend, entitled "Le rendez-Vous d’Antibes".
To underline the character of his research Pignon himself says “Painting is not a career. It is not even a profession. Contrary to and against the times we live in, it is not a commodity, even if it is, nor an exhibition item, even if it is. It is a way of life ".
To underline the character of his research Pignon himself says “Painting is not a career. It is not even a profession. Contrary to and against the times we live in, it is not a commodity, even if it is, nor an exhibition item, even if it is. It is a way of life ".
Around 1927, after his military service in Syria, he decides to pursue a career as an artist and leaves for Paris, where he works as a worker. He attends evening courses at the Montparnasse School and attends the Faculty of Economics and Philosophy of the University of Workers. In these early years he paints outdoor landscapes around Meudon. In 1932 he exhibits for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants and in 1933 at the Galerie Billiet; in 1934 he takes part in the Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists with Fernand Léger, Maria Elena Vieira da Silva, André Lhote and other artists. He gets small theatrical roles. In 1935 George Dayez hires him in his father's artisan lithography studio; this employment allows him to have more money and more time to paint. He begins to participate in several group exhibitions. In 1937 he exhibits at the Salon du Temps Présent, at the gallery of the merchant Durand Ruel.
On the occasion of the exhibition in the Salon de l'Alahambra for the first of Romain Rolland on July 14, he meets Picasso who takes his defense (and those of other young painters) in a clash that opposes him, despite the admiration that has for the artist, in Léger. Since 1938 he has exhibited with some of the most important contemporary French painters; at the end of 1940, after being called to arms, he returns to Paris and in 1944 he joins the Resistance by participating in the "National Front" with Aragon and Elsa Triolet. In 1943 a book has been published dedicated to him and to other French painters including: André Beaudin, Jerzy Beres, Léon Gischia
Between 1945 and 1946 he stays in Ostend, where he paints in front of the frozen sea and in front of the city massacred by the war. The stay in Belgium inaugurates the beginning of the "periods" characterized by long work starting from the same theme: miners, the dead worker, landscapes and peasants, the olive tree, cockfights, etc.
In 1946 he exhibits “pensive woman” at the 24th Venice Biennale and organises a personal exhibition in Brussels. In 1949 he holds another solo show in Paris in which his attachment to the cause of the proletariat which he intends to support with painting is clearly denoted. In 1958 the Venice Biennale welcomes him to the French pavilion; in 1960 he exhibits at the Museum of Metz and Luxembourg. During these years he settles in Marles-les-Mines where he paints the series of “Cockfights”. In these compositions Pignon creates an explosion of forms caused by the action of combat, keeping the form palpable and concrete, that is, alive and real.
Since 1961 he exhibits his personal exhibitions in New York, Amsterdam, at the Lucerne Museum, at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, just to name a few .
After several summer stays in Filacciano, near Rome, between 1961 and 1963, he faces another important theme "The wheat reapers". In 1963 and 1964 is the period of the "Battles": Blue Battle, Green Battle, etc.
In 1966 Jean Louis Ferrier publishes La quête de la realité (The Search for Reality), the result of conversations recorded with Pignon where he talks about his experience and the current problems of creation.
In Sanary, in the years 1965-66 he develops the theme of the “Divers” that would fuel the creation of giant ceramic sculptures such as the one for the Cultural Center of Argenteuil of 49 meters in length executed in 1969.
In the years 1967-71, painting returned to war. Ceramics, panels, canvases, including large heads of warriors and a series on "Warlords".
In November 1970 he is in Milan, where the Galleria del Milione exhibits some of his recent paintings. Two years later, other Italian galleries are competing for his works: the Girasole Gallery in Udine, the Ravagnan Gallery in Venice, the Antenore Gallery in Padua and finally the Torbandena Gallery in Trieste where, for the first time, also two red nudes appear. In fact, starting from 1973 he performs the series of “Nudes”: Nudes with parasols, Nudes red, blue, white, multicoloured.
In 1973 a large traveling retrospective with 50 works has been set up in Bucharest. The Museum of Modern Art in Paris organises an exhibition for him entitled "Les Nus rouges et après".
In the summer of 1980 Pignon works on a series called "Marine Blue". During this period he paints numerous large canvases (beaches and nudes of kneeling or maternity women).
At the beginning of the eighties the "Men of the earth" series began, inspired by the studies on nature made in Vallauris and Sanary already in the 50s -55s. In the following years he explores the theme of electricity with the "High Voltage" series.
In 1984 at the Picasso Museum in Antibes he exhibits all the works of the series dedicated to the great master and friend, entitled "Le rendez-Vous d’Antibes".
To underline the character of his research Pignon himself says “Painting is not a career. It is not even a profession. Contrary to and against the times we live in, it is not a commodity, even if it is, nor an exhibition item, even if it is. It is a way of life ".
In recent years, several exhibitions of Pignon's work have been organized, among the main ones being: the traveling exhibition "Edouard Pignon - du rythme entre les choses", has been held between 2005 and 2006 at the Museum de l'Hospice Saint-Roch in Issoudun, at the Museum of Modern Art in Céret and at the André-Diligent Pool-Museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix; the exhibition "Edouard Pignon au coeur du monde cézannien" presented at the Center d'Art Présence Van Gogh in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in 2006.
The exhibition, curated by the expert Philippe Bouchet, also presents the ceramic works produced in Vallauris (where Picasso already operated). This aspect of Pignon's art (little known to the public because it was shown on only one other occasion, in 1954 in Paris) confirms the artist's talent also in the field of decorative arts.
Main museums:
Algeri, Algeria
Amsterdam (Stedeljik Museum) Olanda
Antibes, Caen, Calais, Cambrai, Grenoble, Rouen - Francia
Bruxelles (Musée Royal) Belgio
Faenza, Italia
Londra, Gran Bretagna
Parigi (Musée National d’Art Moderne, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, l’Arsenal, CNAC)
Riga, URSS
San Francisco, Wellington, Stati Uniti
San Paolo, Brasile
Santiago, Cile
Stoccolma, Svezia
Tokyo, Giappone
Varsavia, Polonia
© Edouard Pignon, by SIAE 2023
On the occasion of the exhibition in the Salon de l'Alahambra for the first of Romain Rolland on July 14, he meets Picasso who takes his defense (and those of other young painters) in a clash that opposes him, despite the admiration that has for the artist, in Léger. Since 1938 he has exhibited with some of the most important contemporary French painters; at the end of 1940, after being called to arms, he returns to Paris and in 1944 he joins the Resistance by participating in the "National Front" with Aragon and Elsa Triolet. In 1943 a book has been published dedicated to him and to other French painters including: André Beaudin, Jerzy Beres, Léon Gischia
Between 1945 and 1946 he stays in Ostend, where he paints in front of the frozen sea and in front of the city massacred by the war. The stay in Belgium inaugurates the beginning of the "periods" characterized by long work starting from the same theme: miners, the dead worker, landscapes and peasants, the olive tree, cockfights, etc.
In 1946 he exhibits “pensive woman” at the 24th Venice Biennale and organises a personal exhibition in Brussels. In 1949 he holds another solo show in Paris in which his attachment to the cause of the proletariat which he intends to support with painting is clearly denoted. In 1958 the Venice Biennale welcomes him to the French pavilion; in 1960 he exhibits at the Museum of Metz and Luxembourg. During these years he settles in Marles-les-Mines where he paints the series of “Cockfights”. In these compositions Pignon creates an explosion of forms caused by the action of combat, keeping the form palpable and concrete, that is, alive and real.
Since 1961 he exhibits his personal exhibitions in New York, Amsterdam, at the Lucerne Museum, at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, just to name a few .
After several summer stays in Filacciano, near Rome, between 1961 and 1963, he faces another important theme "The wheat reapers". In 1963 and 1964 is the period of the "Battles": Blue Battle, Green Battle, etc.
In 1966 Jean Louis Ferrier publishes La quête de la realité (The Search for Reality), the result of conversations recorded with Pignon where he talks about his experience and the current problems of creation.
In Sanary, in the years 1965-66 he develops the theme of the “Divers” that would fuel the creation of giant ceramic sculptures such as the one for the Cultural Center of Argenteuil of 49 meters in length executed in 1969.
In the years 1967-71, painting returned to war. Ceramics, panels, canvases, including large heads of warriors and a series on "Warlords".
In November 1970 he is in Milan, where the Galleria del Milione exhibits some of his recent paintings. Two years later, other Italian galleries are competing for his works: the Girasole Gallery in Udine, the Ravagnan Gallery in Venice, the Antenore Gallery in Padua and finally the Torbandena Gallery in Trieste where, for the first time, also two red nudes appear. In fact, starting from 1973 he performs the series of “Nudes”: Nudes with parasols, Nudes red, blue, white, multicoloured.
In 1973 a large traveling retrospective with 50 works has been set up in Bucharest. The Museum of Modern Art in Paris organises an exhibition for him entitled "Les Nus rouges et après".
In the summer of 1980 Pignon works on a series called "Marine Blue". During this period he paints numerous large canvases (beaches and nudes of kneeling or maternity women).
At the beginning of the eighties the "Men of the earth" series began, inspired by the studies on nature made in Vallauris and Sanary already in the 50s -55s. In the following years he explores the theme of electricity with the "High Voltage" series.
In 1984 at the Picasso Museum in Antibes he exhibits all the works of the series dedicated to the great master and friend, entitled "Le rendez-Vous d’Antibes".
To underline the character of his research Pignon himself says “Painting is not a career. It is not even a profession. Contrary to and against the times we live in, it is not a commodity, even if it is, nor an exhibition item, even if it is. It is a way of life ".
In recent years, several exhibitions of Pignon's work have been organized, among the main ones being: the traveling exhibition "Edouard Pignon - du rythme entre les choses", has been held between 2005 and 2006 at the Museum de l'Hospice Saint-Roch in Issoudun, at the Museum of Modern Art in Céret and at the André-Diligent Pool-Museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix; the exhibition "Edouard Pignon au coeur du monde cézannien" presented at the Center d'Art Présence Van Gogh in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in 2006.
The exhibition, curated by the expert Philippe Bouchet, also presents the ceramic works produced in Vallauris (where Picasso already operated). This aspect of Pignon's art (little known to the public because it was shown on only one other occasion, in 1954 in Paris) confirms the artist's talent also in the field of decorative arts.
Main museums:
Algeri, Algeria
Amsterdam (Stedeljik Museum) Olanda
Antibes, Caen, Calais, Cambrai, Grenoble, Rouen - Francia
Bruxelles (Musée Royal) Belgio
Faenza, Italia
Londra, Gran Bretagna
Parigi (Musée National d’Art Moderne, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, l’Arsenal, CNAC)
Riga, URSS
San Francisco, Wellington, Stati Uniti
San Paolo, Brasile
Santiago, Cile
Stoccolma, Svezia
Tokyo, Giappone
Varsavia, Polonia
© Edouard Pignon, by SIAE 2023
