Pierre Girieud

The painter Pierre Girieud (1876 - 1948) is considered according to testimonys of the time, like a figure of Montmartre. He contributes to it as from 1900 to the creation of the modern art by taking part or causing many experiments on the matter:

the Living room of Refused whose Girieud works out the statutes in 1901, and who will become the Salon of autumn;
the Modern College of Esthetics created in 1901 with Launay, Dezaunay, Maillol, of Mathan, Villon, the Jordan, Milcendeau, Durrio and Girieud;
New the Tendencies Group to which Girieud adheres in 1903 and where it meets Vassili Kandinsky in 1904;
Free, founded the Médicis Villa in 1909 with Metzinger, Gleizes and Duhamel and Girieud at the request of President Bonjean and from which will profit Raoul Dufy, André Lhote and Marchand:
the Association of New Artists (NKV) of Munich, created in 1904 but whose first demonstration will take place in 1909. Girieud becomes their principal French representative and assistance the leader members to gather works of its French fellow-members.
Der Blaue Reiter: Girieud takes part with the Inhabitants of Munich in 1911 in the birth of this movement and provides them many documents.

Berthe Weil exposes its fabrics since 1901, Clovis Sagot as from 1903. Kahanweiller devotes a particular exposure in 1907 to him. As from this pivotal year, Girieud is present in all the national and international exposures: Independent of Prague, London exposure “Manet and the Post-impressionists”, exposure of French Art of Budapest, II° Post Impressionist Exhibition of London, gallery Hans Goltz in Germany within the framework of Neue Kunst, Armory Show of New York, Boston and Chicago, Living room of Independent, Living room of Fall, Exposure of French Art of Stockholm, Living room of Tileries, at Druet with the Gasquet group, with the exposure of papers of Montval to the gallery of the Unicorn, the Biennale de Venise… The merchants with regular intervals arrange particular exposures to him, in particular Paul Rosenberg worried by the renovation of its stable, Berthe Weill, the Charlet gallery in Brussels, Druet which receives it several times and an album in 1931 devotes to him.

Large admiror of Paul Gauguin of which it could see works in 1901, thanks to his friend Durrio, ceramist and goldsmith which worked with the artist, Girieud painted according to the precepts nabi S. It paints by broad flat tints, determines of black the forms stylized to emphasize some quintessence. There does not copy to any more being it but translated a feeling vis-a-vis the model, thanks to the play of the composition and the colors. It uses tons whole and does not hesitate to employ colors against nature to increase the decorative effect by making a harmonic At the time of the Gauguin retrospective in 1906, it paints the Master within a composition inspired of Cène in which Gauguin shares a meal with its disciples (a draft is in the collection Atchull and the composition is in Pont Swallow-hole). Girieud likes the color. He studies the impact of it by creating variations on the same subject covered in tons different. He exposed five paintings in the room n° VII of the Salon of autumn of 1905, qualified “cage with the deer”. He was always described as fawn-coloured by the criticisms of the time, marked by the violence of his colors. He showed with the Salon Independent of 1905 one of his main works: the temptation of Saint Antoine whose colors made scandal. (This fabric is with the Cantini Museum of Marseilles). Friend of Kandinsky since 1904, Girieud is first French to be adhered to the principles of the NKV during his creation in 1909. He is used then as bond between the Parisian and German artists and makes his contribution to the catalogs and exposures. Girieud, follower of Primitive and Fauvisme, nourishes vigorous oppositions inherent in its native Provence, is invested in this painting with excessive contrasts, with the reports/ratios of strange colors dominated by the abundance of the black, with simplifications of forms increasingly acuter. It leads to a graphic violence registering the pessimism of becoming human. When Kandinsky leaves the NKV, it maintains good contacts with Girieud which discharges to make the connection between Blaue Reiter and Paris. Kandinsky orders from Girieud an article on the Primitive Sienans and of the images of Épinal to constitute the Almanac. Girieud succeeds in the feat of ingenuity to remain faithful to the two antagonistic clans: it contributes its share to the Almanac but does not expose with Blaue Reiter, continuing to hang its fabrics in the close rooms reserved for the NKV. In fact, Girieud completely approves the philosophy which governed the creation of Blaue Reiter for which Art has borders, neither between the States, nor between the disciplines. It already fought in 1901 for this new prospect of the art for which painters, writers and musicians must contribute. As from 1912, strongly plain with provençaux intellectuals whose leader is Joachim Gasquet, Girieud with the revelation, with their contact, of the beauty of the traditional compositions. It holds an additional source of inspiration. Plenitude of the forms and colors become its new rules of composition, synthesizing the traditional concepts and its perception of the world in the light of the Mediterranean world.

Its works are present in 22 museums of which the museum of the Hermitage of Saint-Pétersbourg, the National museum of modern art of the Center Georges-Pompidou with Paris, Lembachhaus of Munich, the museum of the Petit Palais of Geneva, the Musée Cantini of Marseilles, the museum of Annonciade with Saint-Tropez.

Girieud which was Symbolist in turn, deer, expressionnist before becoming neo-classic remainder an unclassable artist strongly influenced by certain currents, it is not really integrated in any them bringing to them to all its personal key. Its solitary course was always difficult sometimes misunderstood; Louis Vauxcelles pays in Excelsior . May 29th, 1919: “Whereas Fleming, Marquet, Dufrénoy, Puy, Laprade, Manguin, Friesz became famous, famous Matisse, Pierre Girieud, their comrade, their equal, remain insulated. One was not right for Girieud, and I make here my mea culpa of criticism. Except Gasquet and Charles Morice which had included/understood this artist, no one did not go to seek it in its retirement. We were allured too much by the delights of Bonnard, and the fireworks of the Deer surprised us. Close to them, but in silence, a being cultivated, méditatif, enthusiast of the Sienans and Gauguin, aimed not to the effect, but at rate, the composition ordered with the purple passage preferred. It was Girieud”.

External bonds

Site of Association Pierre Girieud from which the majority comes from what precedes.
Site of the Priory of Mayanneoù is held of August 1st - September 20th, 2007 the Exposure: " Amours" of Pierre Girieud - various faces of the Love in the light of the great Greek myths.

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