.Bazaine

Jean Bazaine in his Clamart studio, 1978.

Jean Bazaine (1904-2001) has difficulty bearing a label. If his work exudes a sacred dimension, it retains its secrets. Was the artist marked by the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral, learning the lesson from his master Bonnard? Abstract Bazaine? The world he gives us belongs to him with all its mysteries. All his work comes from a deep inner vision. Nothing isolated about him, but a fabric in perpetual movement, like a stellar whirlwind. No wonder he repeatedly created stained glass windows for churches or chapels. He exhibited from 1949 and until his death in 2001 at the Galerie Maeght, which supported him and published “L'être perdu” and “L'ombre, la branch”. These books, in small print runs, testify to his closeness to the poets André Frénaud and Jean Tardieu. All his work follows a slow and sure evolution with his requirements, without gratuity. Always in pursuit of the “hidden meaning of things” dear to Aristotle. A tireless builder, he explored all techniques, monumental tapestry to bring out the twelve coats of arms of the months of the year, mosaic to adorn the vault of the Cluny metro station in Paris, theater sets and costumes. No overwhelming spectacularity in his work but a seduction that calls for a pause. A strong and profound beauty is revealed to those who give time to time. Like poetry, Bazaine's painting can be read, breathed and meditated on.

Jean Bazaine, Mêlée de l’aube, 1972, oil on canvas, 139 x195 cm.

Jean Bazaine, The Mass of the Armed Man, 1944, oil on canvas, 116 x73 cm.

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