Michel Thompson
ARTIST: Michel Thompson (1921-2007) French
TITLE: “Still Life Of Interior Scene”
SIGNED: lower left
MEDIUM: oil on board
SIZE: 42cm x 36cm framed
CONDITION: very good
PRICE: £sold
DETAIL: Michel Thompson was born 1921 in Fontenay Aux Roses, France. He began to attract attention in 1946 and from 1948 he formed part of the Homme Temoin Group which, under the aegis of Jean Bouret, proclaimed the failure of the avante garde movement and the need to return to the concrete realities of existence. The group, led mainly by Lorjou and Rebeyrolle was also joined by Bernard Buffet. In 1950 Thompson was appointed to the committee of the Salon Des Jeunes Peintres. In 1952 he was awarded the Prix Feneon. By 1945 when he was just 25 years old Thompson had created a style, a genre, of his own. A typical subject would be a view from above of 2 forks, a glass and some less than tempting fruit lost on an immense table – this work being absolutely typical of his output during this period. In 1956, Thompson returned to a more authentic observation of reality painting more pleasant scenes of everyday life and adopting a more colourful use of pigment applied in rapid almost transparent touches. Later still he would move to a style closer to abstraction with geometric compositions and cubist construction.
Thompson exhibited extensively during his career, including Galerie Maeght in Paris, Galerie Du Bac Paris and Galerie Claude in Paris in the 1940’s. In 1949 he began exhibiting at all the major Salons. In the 1950’s he showed solo at Galerie Monique De Groote, Galerie Simone Badinier in Paris and further afield at the Bianchin Gallery New York USA amongst many others. In 1990 The Galerie Expression Paris held a retrospective.
