Bernard Lorjou (French, 1908-1986) Signed and Numbered Colored Lithograph

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Bernard Lorjou (French, 1908-1986) Signed and Numbered Colored Lithograph "Untitled" Circa 1972 (framed under glass)

Lorjou was a French painter … Read more Bernard Lorjou (French, 1908-1986) Signed and Numbered Colored Lithograph "Untitled" Circa 1972 (framed under glass)

Lorjou was a French painter of Expressionism and a founding member of the anti-abstract art Group "L'homme Témoin". Born in 1908 to an impoverished family, Lorjou spent his youth living "in the streets." At the age of 13, with his desire to learn to paint, he left his home of Blois for Paris where he worked without pay as an errand boy for a printing house. He eventually found a position as a designer at the silk house Ducharne where he met artist Yvonne Mottet who later became his wife. For the next 30 years, Lorjou was a high successful silk designer of high-end fashion. At this time, he began to paint on a full-time basis and became influenced by El Greco, Velasquez, Goya. In 1942, at the Salon des Indépendents, Lorjou exhibited his work for the first time. He held his first solo exhibition in 1945 at the Galerie du Bac and in 1946, he exhibited alongside with Georges Rouault, Chaïm Soutine, and James Ensor. In 1948, with art critic Jean Bouret, Lorjou formed the art group "l’Homme Temoin" in an effort to defend figurative painting against the abstract movement. The group attracted other painters such as Bernard Buffet, Jean Couty, André Minaux, Robert Charazac, and Simone Dat. Lorjou was supported by prominent art figures like Georges Wildenstein and Domenica Walter, the widow of Paul Guillaume. In 1969, created a series of paintings about the murder of Sharon Tate by members of the Manson Family.
Lorjou’s body of work includes thousands of paintings, a collection wood engravings, ceramic and bronze sculptures, lithographs, illustrated books, socially oriented posters, stained glass windows, and murals.

Dimensions: Sight size: 27.5" h x 17.5" w. Frame: 34" h x 23.75" w.
Condition: Good vintage condition.
Provenance: Wally Findlay Galleries, NYC. Property from a Fort Lee, NJ collection. See less