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MATTIN-LAURENT PARTARRIEU
Mattin-Laurent Partarrieu is a painter
of Basque origin, who dared to break with the traditional ways of the Basque
artists who preceded him.
He left his home of Hasparren in the
south west of France for Paris, at the age of 4, yet that was enough time for
the landscape and the people to be ingrained in his memory forever. He remains
very attached to the soul and traditions of the Basque Country - references
feature often in his work, and he is passionate for the popular Basque sport of
Pelote.
The first painting that he created as a
pre-adolescent child caused a tornado of discussions and commentaries by the
French intellectual elite of the 50s, and celebrated authors proclaimed his work
as a masterpiece worthy of a veteran. There is something sad about his story
however. A boy eager to defend and uphold the principles of his people, but
whose journey cost him his Basque identity.
His work is a very personal expression,
of freedom and of extreme vitality, with the power of audacity. His art either
seizes upon everything beautiful or astonishing that he is presented with, or it
chooses elements from deep within the reserves of his Basque genealogy,
experiences, and inherent characteristics. The combination enables him to gather
such a quantity of strong visual imagery.
Partarrieu draws on everyday life,
visualising while going about his daily business, and some would probably say
while sleeping judging by some of the dream-like fantasy figures he offers to
us. They shine with eroticism, and the vibrant optimism of his burning colour
palette.
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LE
FLEURISTE
(THE
FLORIST)
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
24¾" X 20"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£355 |
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L'INSPIRATION DE L'ARTISTE
(THE
ARTIST'S INSPIRATION)
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
18"
X 22¼"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£345 |
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LA CHAMBRE
DE BONNE
(THE
MAID'S ROOM)
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
19¾" X 16"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£335 |
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He fondly captures life with detail and
nostalgia, continually drawing comparisons and confrontations between the two
worlds to which he belongs - the idyllic countryside lifestyles of yesterday and
the cosmopolitan Parisian lifestyles of today. The weird and wonderful world of
cafés, restaurants, bars and bordellos feature often in his work, like
references to the bygone era in the great tradition of Toulouse-Lautrec.
His exceptional gift for studying,
interpreting, designing, and painting are handled with the brightest and most
expressive form of artistic flair, and allow him to penetrate below the surface
of the subjects that he represents. His figurative capability is accomplished
and masterly. While his forms are elongated and exaggerated and appear to have
been sketched in a hurry, his postures and expressions are never loose or
clumsy, character and body language are represented with such considered
subtlety and exactness he seems to have spent a lifetime studying them.
His viewpoint is furtive, he is a voyeur
of intimacy, and his subjects are exposed and off guard. He is able to display
their inner beings as vulnerable, open souls with nothing to hide. His eye waits
patiently for an unveiling, seizing upon the fleeting moments of chemistry and
revealing the rich tapestry of scenes of everyday life. Perhaps it was his
friendship with photographer Robert Doisneau, who also trained as an engraver
and lithographer, that inspired the freshness in his approach, his taste of the
low-angle shots, his penchant for capturing the instantaneous moments, in a
snapshot.
His ultimate goal seems to emphasise the
deep emotional expressions of the figures as they travel from their canvas onto
his, studying them in their surroundings to connect with them, familiarising
himself with revealing people of his own extreme sensitivity. The acute
observations of his trained eye, however, are never over-emphasised, and his
work is an honour to the great power of suggestion - he still prefers to excite
the imagination than reveal all there is to be seen.
His art is alive with intelligence,
irony and kindness, and breathes an air of sensuality and cheerfulness. The
fluidity of his stroke allows him to push his analysis of the figure even
further, and he seems to take great delight and fulfilment from his own artistic
ability. |
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LA 2CV DE
MA SOEUR
(MY
SISTER'S 2CV)
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
24¾" X 20"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£355 |
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MA ROBE
PRÉFÉRÉ
(MY FAVOURITE DRESS)
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
16"
X 19¾"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£335 |
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ARTISTES Á
'LA COUPOLE'
(ARTISTS AT 'LA COUPOLE')
Click Picture To Enlarge
Medium:
Giclée
Published:
2008
Edition Copies:
95
Size:
22¼" X 18"
Signed:
Yes
Mounted:
£345 |
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