An emblematic figure of Art Déco painting of the twentieth century, André MAIRE (1898-1984) is one of those qualified as a painter-explorer. At the Beaux-Arts de Paris, being precocious at a young age he followed the teaching of that which would become his stepfather: Émile Bernard, the major Post-Impressionist painter and writer. Bernard trained him in the classical techniques of painting and, particularly, in the use of colors and the importance of composition.
The quality of André MAIRE’s drawings reflects the profound admiration that he cultivated for the great Italian masters like Le Piranesi. Very early, he found his personal artistic style and freed himself from any kind of influence or creative dogma. The longevity of his career is directly linked to the frequency of his travels, which he carried out throughout his life, an intellectual enrichment and a constant source of inspiration.
Enlisted during World War I, he was sent to French Indochina. It was there he became professor of Arts Plastiques at the College of Saigon and took advantage of his location and traveled the region. This was how he discovered Cambodia and fell under the charm of Angkor, to which he portrays to us his passionate fascination. His numerous drawings of the sacred site were exhibited during the Colonial Exhibition of 1931 in Paris.
When he returned to France, he escaped to Italy, Venice, specifically, as well as Spain. From 1938 to 1945, he explored Egypt, Africa, India and Sri Lanka. From 1948 to 1955, he returned to the city of Saigon where he taught again, but this time at the École Supérieure d’Architecture. During this time, he made a multitude of orientalist drawings, but also panels in the accents of Art Déco, at the same time modern, pure and stylized, inspired by Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
His talent is well-known for famous charcoals, watercolors and gouaches but also equally for the beauty of his ink and sepia pieces. His works are part of permanent collections and multiple museums.
In 1934, André Maire’s “Le Pont de Tolède” was acquired by the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou; then, in 1936, the city of Paris for “Espagne – Pont à Cuenca.” In 1945, the Musée des Colonies enriched its work on Egypt and India while the drawings of Angkor and Africa respectively joined the collections of the Musée Guimet (Musée National des Arts Asiatiques, Musée Branly and Musée d’Art Moderne de Troyes. The piece “La Citadelle” is at La Piscine Museum in Roubaix.
André MAIRE’S work was rich, constructed and dynamic until the end of his life. Like a hymn to the diversity of our cultures and civilizations throughout the world, it celebrates with passion and talent, the spiritual, the earth, animals and men, history and life.
The quality of André MAIRE’s drawings reflects the profound admiration that he cultivated for the great Italian masters like Le Piranesi. Very early, he found his personal artistic style and freed himself from any kind of influence or creative dogma. The longevity of his career is directly linked to the frequency of his travels, which he carried out throughout his life, an intellectual enrichment and a constant source of inspiration.
Enlisted during World War I, he was sent to French Indochina. It was there he became professor of Arts Plastiques at the College of Saigon and took advantage of his location and traveled the region. This was how he discovered Cambodia and fell under the charm of Angkor, to which he portrays to us his passionate fascination. His numerous drawings of the sacred site were exhibited during the Colonial Exhibition of 1931 in Paris.
When he returned to France, he escaped to Italy, Venice, specifically, as well as Spain. From 1938 to 1945, he explored Egypt, Africa, India and Sri Lanka. From 1948 to 1955, he returned to the city of Saigon where he taught again, but this time at the École Supérieure d’Architecture. During this time, he made a multitude of orientalist drawings, but also panels in the accents of Art Déco, at the same time modern, pure and stylized, inspired by Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
His talent is well-known for famous charcoals, watercolors and gouaches but also equally for the beauty of his ink and sepia pieces. His works are part of permanent collections and multiple museums.
In 1934, André Maire’s “Le Pont de Tolède” was acquired by the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou; then, in 1936, the city of Paris for “Espagne – Pont à Cuenca.” In 1945, the Musée des Colonies enriched its work on Egypt and India while the drawings of Angkor and Africa respectively joined the collections of the Musée Guimet (Musée National des Arts Asiatiques, Musée Branly and Musée d’Art Moderne de Troyes. The piece “La Citadelle” is at La Piscine Museum in Roubaix.
André MAIRE’S work was rich, constructed and dynamic until the end of his life. Like a hymn to the diversity of our cultures and civilizations throughout the world, it celebrates with passion and talent, the spiritual, the earth, animals and men, history and life.
