Jean Lombard

JEAN LOMBARD (1895-1846)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner
Measurements: 89 x 116 cm.
Outstanding figure of the School of Paris in the period after the Second World War. Lombard was formed in the École des Beaux-Arts of Lyon, and attended the workshops of Auguste Morisot and Charles Repelin. In 1918 he moved to Paris and entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He devoted much time to the study of the great masters of art, such as Titian, Tintoretto and Rubens, frequently visiting museums. At the same time, he was influenced by the new paths opened by Van Gogh, Bonnard, Matisse and Cézanne. His first participation in the Salon des Indépendants was in 1921, and a year later he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, where he continued to present works until 1939. In 1925 he began to participate in the Salon des Tuileries. His first solo exhibition was held at the Galerie d'Art Contemporain in 1928, where he showed figurative works. Subsequently, he exhibited at the Galerie Druet in 1932, 1935 and 1938, a period that marked what has been called his "Cezannian period".
During the Occupation, he remained in Paris and in 1942 he founded an artistic collective in the rue du Vert-Bois, called "Atelier du Vert-Bois", a sort of free academy that gave rise to the "Groupe du Vert-Bois", together with artists such as Jean Bazaine, Léon Zack and Félix Aublet. He continued to present his works in different galleries: Galerie de Berri in 1941, Galerie d'Anjou in 1943 and Galerie Bourdon in 1947. After the end of the war, his style evolved towards greater abstraction and expressiveness, seeking to capture the abstract within the natural environment. In 1955 he received the Lissone Prize in Milan. He continued to exhibit widely in galleries such as Gentilhommière (1954), Le Cercle (1957), Synthése (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967), Ronca in Lucerne (1961), Pierre Loeb in Paris (1962) and at the French Institute in Cologne (1962).
Throughout his career, he also participated in many group exhibitions, including: Galerie Moderne Hassel Backen in Stockholm (1947); "Jeune Peinture Française" in Germany (1950); "New International Painting" in Tokyo (1955); "Sélection Comparaisons" in Mexico (1959); "Les Contemporains" at the Museum of Reims (1960); "Synthése" at the Museum of Nantes (1960); and "École de Paris" in Tokyo and Kyoto (1960). He was a regular participant in avant-garde salons such as the Salon de Mai from 1949 and Réalités Nouvelles between 1956 and 1958. Major retrospectives of his work have been held, one in 1975 at the Musée d'Ingres and another in 1990 at the Galerie Etienne de Causans, Paris.
Today, his works are part of important collections, including the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.