Jean Messagier

Biography of Jean Messagier

Jean MESSAGIER was born in Paris on July 13, 1920. He spent his childhood between the capital and Franche-Comté, where his family originated. This region would always remain dear to his heart and a source of inspiration. Like many abstract painters, his early works were figurative, including portraits, but also landscapes, particularly those along the banks of the Seine.

In the late 1940s, he began to develop his characteristic style of detached landscapes from figurative conventions. He then invented what would become known as 'abstract landscape painting.' With broad brushstrokes, he worked the canvas with sweeping movements, which not only defined his style but also expressed his emotions.

From 1962, he settled in Franche-Comté, in Colombier-Fontaine, where he acquired a mill, designed by a former student of Le Corbusier, on the banks of the Doubs, which would henceforth be his living and working space.

And he worked like a maniac, interested in all techniques that could enrich his expression, from engraving to tapestry; exhibited worldwide and returned, in the 1980s, to a certain figurative style with humor-filled paintings that sometimes flirted with surrealism.

He passed away on September 10, 1999, leaving behind a prolific body of work, honored by major museums around the world (such as the Guggenheim in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art in Yokohama, Japan...).

(c) Natacha PELLETIER for PASSION ESTAMPES