Pierre DE BELAY (1890-1947)

Lot 1
Go to lot
Estimation :
200 - 300 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 386EUR
Pierre DE BELAY (1890-1947)
Seated female nude Ink and charcoal Signed lower left, dated 26 53 x 38 cm Pierre de Belay was born in Quimper in 1890. His real name is Eugène Pierre Savigny, from 1910, he signs his works Pierre Savigny de Belay or Pierre S. de Belay, then a few years later, having decided to be a painter signs Pierre de Belay. Max Jacob, born in Quimper and friend of the Savigny family, accompanied him and had a determining influence in his choice to become a painter. Pierre de Belay's vocation was born during his first stay in Paris, where, hosted by Max Jacob, he met the artists and writers of the time such as Pablo Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire, André Salmon, Marie Laurencin, Juan Gris or Pierre Mac Orlan and others. In 1907, Max Jacob settled on the hillock of Montmartre, opposite the Bateau Lavoir. Pierre de Belay stayed with the poet and became a privileged witness of the artistic and literary life of Montmartre. From 1910 to 1913 he did his military service in Quimper, then participated in the 14-18 war, where he was wounded at Verdun. It was in 1923 that the painter's career took a decisive turn when he was commissioned to paint the large decorations for the dining room of the Ker Moor hotel in Bénodet, decorations that have recently been preserved in the Quimper Museum of Fine Arts. From that year on, the painter's fame grew considerably in Brittany, supported by his painter friend Lucien Simon. De Belay participated in numerous exhibitions not only in Brittany, but also from 1925 in the Parisian Salons, Tuileries, Indépendants, Automne or Salon d'Hiver. The Parisian galleries were not to be outdone, Varennes in 1927, Lemarget in 1929, Katia Granoff in 1935, Altarriba in 1942, 1944 and 1945. In 1942 he also exhibited at Durant-David alongside Maurice Denis, Chapelain Midy, Chastel, Dufy, Derain, Frietz, Poliakoff, Souverbie and Waroquier. From 1932 to 1939, he was fascinated by the judicial world, the great trials were a source of inspiration for him and he became an informed pictorial chronicler. Throughout his career, de Belay was figurative, expressionist, with a palette of bright colors, made of flat tints, almost geometric, with a sometimes thick material, with strong serifs, going in the last part of his work, towards a trellist technique. In 1947, Pierre de Belay died of a heart attack at the age of 57. Hélène, his wife, undertook to make her husband's work known. In 1972, a first book made us rediscover the work of the painter. From that date on, Pierre de Belay took his place among museum curators, collectors, dealers and auction houses. In 1976, the Museum of Quimper opened a permanent room dedicated to Pierre de Belay, which complemented the one dedicated to Max Jacob just next door. Hélène de Belay will regularly donate works by the painter. Museums : Avignon, Bordeaux, Brest, Brussels, Concarneau, Morlaix, Nantes, Orleans, Paris, Quimper, Rennes, Rouen, San Francisco, Strasbourg... Biblio : Pierre de Belay, Gérald Schurr, éditions de la Revue Moderne, 1972. Pierre de Belay, André Cariou, edition of the Museum of Fine Arts of Quimper, 1986.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue