Romijn Art
Middelburg, Zeeland
André Romijn: Capturing the essence of femininity in oil paintings
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Artist: Paul Berthon (French, 1872-1909)
Paul Berthon began to study painting in Villefranche. From 1893 he settled in Paris and took courses there at the École Normale d'Enseignement du Dessin. There he was a student of Luc Olivier Merson and the Swiss Eugene Grasset, a pioneer of modernist illustration. He studied drawing and decorative arts, but it was his powerful line engravings and naturalistic details that stood out in his work. Like Maurice Pillard Verneuil, his early works (circa 1896) showed the influence of his teacher Grasset.
Berthon then developed his own style based on compositions of sharp lines and contours and a palette of ochre, green and pastel yellow. He studied Japanese engraving and the interpretation of flora in French medieval art. His production was mediocre, he made posters and what he called panneaux decoratifs, compositions in which he uses modernist language. He used lithographic, chromolithographic (at Chaix & Cie) and xylographic techniques. He also designed furniture (exhibited at the 1895 Salon), porcelain for Villeroy & Boch (late 1890s). In July 1897 he illustrated the famous cover of the magazine "L'Image" with a woodcut.
André Romijn
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