Art, Partarrieu

I haven’t posted an ‘Art Sunday’ for a while, …..time restraints etc etc; But today while wandering down the high street I happened to glance into the window of one of our local galleries and saw one of these prints. I just caught a glimpse of it through the window but it so intrigued me I had to go in and take a closer look. Initially I was drawn to it because I recognised, even through the shop window and across the gallery, that this was the work of someone who intuitively understood figurative drawing. Once inside and standing just inches away, I experienced mixed emotions. This wasn’t what I first thought, close up it began to look vulgar and cartoonish, and it reminded me of the so called ‘cheeky’ seaside postcards.  I experienced some disappointment, but the longer I stood there the more it intrigued me. Regardless of what it was, this image before me, it was undoubtedly created by someone whose ability to capture the human form in two dimensions was undisputed. Not only is this man master of figurative drawing, he is an expert in observing and accurately portraying body language and facial expression. His work has a strong linear quality, beautifully drawn simple lines that make up the image.
Look at ‘’My Favourite Dress’’, and see how the woman is drawn with the minimum of bold clean lines but how within these few simple lines every thing about this woman is perfectly conveyed.
And then there is his use of colour, vibrant and alive, look at the colours used in ‘’The Florest’’, they really do portray fresh flowers. The painting of two people at a bar (unfortunately I don’t have a title for it just the number IMG_3759.jpg) shows wonderful use of vibrant colour.
His work can be sensitive as in the way the couple are gently holding hands in ‘Le Clown’, or provocative as in ‘Au Sphinx’.
The only rather odd thing about this work is that he always paints the same people. Especially the rather tall lean young man who is in every one of his paintings, not at all sure what the significance of this is.

The painting that first drew my attention through the gallery window was ‘’Artists at ‘La Couple’’, this is described as depicting a

 ‘’popular haunt for Parisian artists for over 70 years, you can find more inspiration here’’
As I looked at this image through the window of the gallery all I could think was how well the figures were drawn and how i needed to stand in front of it and have a closer look. The actual work I was looking at was a Gliclee limited edition print of 94, 563cm x 457cm (221/2 in x 18 in) and the cost of this framed limited edition print was £400, far more than I expected a print to cost. The gallery owner told me he was highly collectable and very popular!!

I did manage to gather a little information about him from the internet. Mattin-Laurent Partarrieu is a painter of Basque origin, who dared to break with the traditional ways of the Basque artists who preceded him. He apparently left his Basque home when a small child but retained some of its traditions. He could be called a modern day painter of social commentary.The rest of his work is here




SOURCE OF PICTURES AND INFORMATION; If you want to read more of him these two sites should help.

http://www.folio.dk/Partarrieu/default.htm

http://www.portmanart.com/asp/default.asp?dynamic=artist&artist_id=124
 
 

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Dec 29, '08 You put that well, you needed a second look to really appreciate it. I think that in fact I would probably do the same as this sort of art doesn't appeal to me personally. I can see this style illustrating books, rather than hanging on a wall, it's a bit too comic for my preference. You're right what you said about it though, good observations.

delete reply djdx wrote on Dec 29, '08 I will be learning about art and artists thanks to your posts.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Dec 28, '08 cool i like it :)

delete reply aimlessjoys wrote on Dec 28, '08 Very intriguing artistry. I like the way you examine the work! Thanks!

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Dec 28, '08 I see what you mean by painting the same people over and over. Glad you had time to take a stroll and see this artist's work.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Dec 27, '08 like I said he is superb thanks loretta I will post one later after I take daughter to airport

delete reply lauritasita wrote on Dec 27, '08 I love the colors the artist uses. Really nice ! I also love how you presented this artists' work.