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One must be wary of works that seduce at first sight; I do not mean that ugliness is a virtue, but a painting should be powerful without the use of trite devices.” – Claude Venard
The painter Claude Venard was a second-generation Cubist known for his vigorously painted canvases. Greatly influenced by Georges Braque, Venard’s works feature a distinctive buttery use of impasto into which outlines have been impressed by the handle of his brush. Highly decorative and often reminiscent of a bas-relief, Venard’s paintings employ bold spatial effects and stylized forms to generate visual excitement. Their sophisticated chromatic harmonies and aesthetic virility have helped the artist gain a substantial posthumous reputation.
Born in Paris on March 21, 1913, Venard grew into a stocky, athletic young man who was a boxer until a low blow landed him in the hospital. While recovering he began to paint watercolors in bed and he soon took a serious interest in painting. He studied for a few days at the Ecole de Beaux Arts, but then began an apprenticeship as a restorer of old master paintings at the Louvre Museum. Working as a restorer gave him a deep acquaintance with the traditional principles of composition that would prove essential to his later works.
By his mid-twenties Venard was exhibiting with a group that called itself “Forces Nouvelles.” This group favored moving away from the avant-garde towards traditional styles and methods. Other painters associated with this tendency include Pierre Tal-Coat and Andre Marchand. In the decades that followed Venard moved his own direction towards an individualistic style related to Cubism. He participated in numerous “School of Paris” group exhibitions at the Galerie Carpentier and was instrumental in helping organize the influential Salon de Mai of 1944.
After the war Venard flirted with abstraction, incorporating a broad range of colors and adding geometric frameworks and outlines. Because of his daring use of the palette knife, Venard’s later paintings have a strong sense of physicality and improvisation. Described by friends as a happy and welcoming man, Venard was a collector whose studio was filled with toy trains, stuffed squirrels and amusingly mounted frogs. Over time, his works were added to many influential museum collections, including those of the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, The Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Tokyo Museum. Venard exhibited internationally at the Venice Biennale and in numerous shows in the United States and Europe.
Claude Venard died in 1999 at the age of 86.
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