On Exhibit:
Raymond Thibesart
(French, 1874-1968)
French Post-Impressionist Masterworks - 1910 to 1930
Raymond Thibesart was born into an affluent family in 1874 and at the age of just 11 years old, Thibesart showed so much talent for drawing that famed impressionist Emile Boggio began giving him lessons. Eventually, Thibesart began formal training at the Lycée Rollin in Paris, followed by studies at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian.
During his studies, Thibesart excelled as a student of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art movements and began winning numerous medals including the gold medal from the Société des Artistes Français in 1897.
Thibesart also studied with the celebrated Impressionist Henri Martin for much of his early life learning the technique of “plein air" painting. Proficiency of this technique and its aesthetic, freed up the young artist, allowing him the ability to create amazingly beautiful light and shadows splayed across his trademark subjects which frequently included the landscapes of Italy, Switzerland, and the rest of mainland Europe.
Thibesart was especially enamored with the river Seine - a subject that repeated itself again and again in his work and he was able to continue painting into his old age, providing a breadth and depth to his catalog that few other artists of his era can match.
Thibesart was extremely popular during his lifetime exhibiting at almost every major gallery in Paris and across Europe, including an extended exhibit at the Knoedler in Paris (1913 - 1927), the Georges Petit gallery in Paris 1930 and the Romanet Gallery in Algiers between 1942 and 1965. During his lifetime, his work was shown in the most distinguished galleries in New York City; Caracas, Venezuela: Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, etc. His reputation gained authority as one of the most important Post-Impressionist painters of any era.
Thibesart had a warm and longstanding friendship with Claude Monet, and the two often shared methods and styles with each other whether through letters or in person. Eventually, their friendship led them to exchange paintings on each other’s birthdays.
Thibesart’s pieces are often tranquil and yet also strikingly beautiful with rich blues, pinks and greens with translucent waters, and the dazzling sparkle of the sun. This Post-Impressionist style is what he became so revered for achieving the enduring fame that remains long after the artist’s passing in the 1960s.
Note: Son of Henri Martin, Jacques Martin-Ferrières, another Post-Impressionist painter of
formidable skill, was a contemporary of Raymond Thibesart, 2 examples of his work have been included as pieces for comparison and contrast and are presented for consideration as well
