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Pierre Grisot (1910-1955)
Pierre Grisot was a French post-Impressionist artist who originally studied engineering. At the suggestion of his family, he was trained as an engineer and even took a job as one in Besancon, France. However, Grisot secretly loved the arts and eventually enrolled himself at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. There he studied for one year before he began studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he received a diploma as a drawing instructor.
Portrait of a Young Lady with an Umbrella
Grisot initially taught painting and drawing for a while, but left after a short while to focus on his own art. Although he had been painting for some time, Grisot did not have his first official exhibition in Paris until 1942. After this, Grisot lived for a brief while in Tunisia and traveled the world exhibiting his work in Germany, Belgium, Sweden and the United States.
Young Woman with a Bouquet
Nu
Considered one of the members of the “ Parisian School” of art, Grisot painted in a lighthearted style that was all his own. Whether he was painting fashionable ladies of the day, nudes or flowers, his work was always full of color and life and was very different from the progressive styles of his contemporary painters. His paintings were quite contemporary nonetheless, and now serve as vintage reminders of the style of the 1940’s and 1950’s. One of the most enduring features of Grisot’s work is his brilliant use of color and almost pixie-like renditions of the female visage.
Parisienne a la Concorde
Parisienne
La Nu Jaune
Nu a l’atelier
Sadly, Grisot’s painting career was cut abruptly short when he died in 1955. At that time, he had only been exhibiting his work for about 15 years, and had been mainly a teacher and student prior to the 1940s. He left behind a fairly large collection of sweet and feminine paintings of French life featuring horse races, ballerinas and ladies of leisure.
Ladies at the Races
At the Track
The Ballerinas
The Dancers, 1950
The Bathers
Although portraits and still life dominate Grisot’s oeuvre, it would be quite possible to come across a landscape or sketch of his. Little is known of his early work as a student, and surely some of those compositions still exist today. Could that lively painting of a young French coquette in your living room be by Pierre Grisot? Contact us to find out.
