Jacques-Emile Blanche, peintre, écrivain, homme du monde

This retrospective reveals the diversity of the work produced by this artist.

"The son and grandson of well-known physicians, familiar with Tout-Paris and the art world from his early childhood, Jacques-Emile Blanche was a man of many talents. "I forget what my real profession is, am I a painter or a writer first? Writer-painter or painter-writer? " His taste for painting and passion for writing were united in his portraits of literary figures:his portrait of Proust, permanently recording the authors traits for posterity, and those of Cocteau, Gide, Barrès, Radiguet, Claudel and Mauriac, who were, for the most part, also his friends.
His social standing enabled him not only contact with all of the renowned figures of the Belle Epoque and the inter-war years, but also the freedom to choose his own models: artists, musicians, people of the world and anonymous figures. It would be unjust, however, to reduce his legacy down to just his portraits, for Blanche was a man who was highly skilled in many areas of painting: scenes of modern life, city panoramas, scenes of everyday life and grand décor.
The exhibition shown from 7 May to 6 September 2015 at the Palais Lumière dEvian offers a chance to explore works spanning the entire career of the painter. Drawing principally from the large collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen – more than 140 works – to whom the artist made a large donation, this grand retrospective is completed by major artworks from public and private French collections."