For the history-minded, the dates tell. Jean Lasne (10/07/1911-05/16/1940) was born at Bolbec near Le Havre and he died when the Germans broke through the French lines at Ardennes, one of the thousands of soldiers killed during the Battle of France.
Twenty-eight years is not much time for a life or for painting but for Lasne nothing was wasted. He admired the solidity of Cezanne's shapes, translating them into his own vibrant primary palette. The emotional impact of Picasso's Guernica was important too; Lasne wanted to establish a dialogue between the viewer and the interior life of the painter. In his canvases, the colors seem to talk to each other: the reds and the blues are chattering, the whites and greys murmur to each other.
"If feeling animates the canvas, if the canvas has humanity, the feeling will live only in a perfect form – the work moves indirectly but it is necessary that it moves". (translation mine)
Images:
1. Jean Lasne - The Flautist, undated, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Orleans.
2. Jean Lasne - The Hat Box, 1938, Musee des Annees 30, Boulogne-Billancourt.
3. Jean Lasne - La Mappemonde, 1939, Pompidou Center, Paris.
4 comments:
Indirect movement, the communication among colours, and the waste of war. All good things to ponder as the years change.
Happy New Year, dear Jane! Thank you for a year of wonder-filled posts!
So happy you enjoy Lasn'e work, too. With Jean Lasne, as with other under appreciated artists, I;m torn between wanting to know more and understanding that, to live on, the work has to speak for itself. I'm charmed by his painting(s) of hat boxes, with their element of surprise.
So little time - one feels spoiled and rotten sometimes. Every year counts. A happy and fruitful new year to you !
The elasticity of time can snap back on any one of us at any time. Gesbi, a fruitful and productive year to you - and all.
Post a Comment