The images and information presented below are for the instruction of students and scholarly research.
Alfred Manessier
(1911-1993)
Untitled, 1957
Alfred Manessier was a
French artist who worked in Cubism, Surrealism and
ultimately was an Expressionist painter. He belonged to
the School of Paris, and his early studies were under
Bissiere. He also attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in
Paris to study architecture. During this time, he also
often frequented the Louvre to copy Old Master
paintings, and could also be found in the many studios
of Montparnasse.
La Tache Rouge
Port de Crotoy le Soir, 1943
Composition
Manessier's style in
the 1930s was a merge between Surrealism and Cubism, two
of the biggest artistic movements of that decade. In the
1940s, Manessier visited a monastery and his artistic
style was forever changed. He became more spiritual and
his new beliefs began to show up in Abstract
compositions. Religious themes and Expressionist
landscapes began to dominate his Abstract oeuvre.
Epiphany
Figure Of Piety
Crown of Thorns
In 1949, Manessier
held his first one-man show at the Galerie Billiet
Caputo in Paris. Around this time, Manessier had also
expanded his artistic horizons to designing stained
glass, tapestries, and also work for the theater. Like
so many other Abstract artists, Manessier also created a
great number of lithographs and prints. While it is not
likely to find a still life or portrait in a traditional
academic hand by Manessier, his Abstract style was quite
varied, as he experimented often.
Untitled Lithograph
Stained Glass Detail
Untitled
During his lifetime,
Manessier won a number of awards, including the 1962
painting prize at the Venice Biennial. Today his
paintings are housed in private and public collections
worldwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New
York City. Still wondering about a Surrealist or Cubist
fusion Abstract painting hanging in your home? Contact
us... it could be by Alfred Manessier.
