Raoul DUFY

BIOGRAPHY:

Born in Le Havre, France, on 06/03/1877, he died in Forcalquier on 03/23/1953.

Raoul Dufy was a French painter and decorator of the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Le Havre on June 3, 1877, and died in Forcalquier on March 23, 1953. Like many artists of the “modern art” period, he diversified his activities by illustrating texts and creating fabrics and theater sets.

Raoul Dufy’s style expresses the joyful spectacle of everyday life.

Among the great works of this master of emotion, stands “The Electricity Fairy”, a vast fresco of 250 panels, commissioned by the Paris Electricity Company (1937).

Raoul Dufy came from a working-class family. His father was an accountant and organist who introduced his nine children to art. At the age of 14, Dufy studied painting at the local École des Beaux-Arts under the supervision of Charles Lhuillier.

He began to exhibit his work at 15 years old and participated in prestigious exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris and internationally, in Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Prague, London, Chicago, and New York.

Initially influenced by impressionists and post-impressionists such as Monet, Pissarro, and especially Chagall, Raoul Dufy became passionate about Matisse’s work and tried his hand at fauvism. From 1911 on, he collaborated with great couturiers, such as Paul Poiret. He contributed to theatrical decoration thanks to his friendship with Jean Cocteau, who dedicated him a work in 1948. At the age of 60, Raoul Dufy began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. This disabling illness gradually pushed him to live in the South of France, known for its mild and dry climate.

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