Gaston Bertrand - L'homme au jabot - Sold

BERTRAND Gaston (1910 - 1994) L'homme au jabot 1964 Etching and drypoint on Imperial Japanese paper Signed, dated and numbered XVII/L in pencil Dimensions etching: 28 x 21 cm Paper dimensions: 68 x 52 cm Frame dimensions: 88 x 71 cm Reflections on photos due to glass, the etching is in perfect condition and professionally framed with full page visibility
Gaston Bertrand was born on September 2, 1910 in Wonck-sur-Geer. While practicing all kinds of crafts and activities, he simultaneously took drawing lessons at the École Saint-Luc in Brussels, at the Royal Academy of Brussels and then at the Academy of Fine Arts of Sint-Joost-ten-Noode. There he befriended Anne Bonnet and Louis Van Lint. All three participated in 1938 in “Art Jeune”, an exhibition organized by Charles Pry at the Galerie Atrium. In 1937, Gaston Bertrand was awarded the third grant of the Prize of Rome, which enabled him to spend a month in Paris the following year. He was co-founder of the group “Apport” and regularly participated in their activities. In May 1942, at his first personal exhibition, he presented a set of works that well expressed his desire for originality and creativity. In 1944, 1946 and 1949, the Galerie Apollo devoted a monographic exhibition to him. As a founding member of the Young Belgian Painters in 1945, he participated in all the group's exhibitions. After he initially practiced genre painting, a slow process of settling reality began in him and soon all he was left with was the essential, the essence of it, a few very significant, sober and refined lines, combined with large areas of color. Each of his works resembles an architectural composition whose balance is due to a minimal representation, whether it is a portrait or a view of the Parisian subway. From 1956 to 1970, at the request of Professor Jean Guiraud of the École Saint-Luc in Brussels, he headed the painting department. In 1989, the Gaston Bertrand Foundation was set up to promote and preserve his works. This leading figure of the Belgian art world passed away in 1994.