(Solun, 20.6.1898-New York, 13.6.1978)
Jean Isy de Botton was a multi-talented artist who, in addition to painting, was also involved in illustration, designing sets and costumes, and writing librettos for ballets. After completing his studies in philosophy, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1920s. There he trained in sculpture and painting, and already in the early years of his education he began to create intensively. In his free time, he travelled a lot around the world and discovered the cultural customs of European and American residents.
In 1924 he went to Spain. There, he was particularly impressed by Mannerist and Baroque painters, who explored light in their works. He painted landscapes, marinas, vedutes, nudes, and often also portraits. At the beginning of his creative career, his figures were strongly influenced by art deco. They are characterized by a sharp line, which he later softened more and more. He exhibited his works for the first time in 1925 at the Salon of Independents and received positive criticism from the members of the jury. In the thirties, he went south again and travelled through the Mediterranean countries. During this time, he saw the works of Piero della Francesca for the first time, which were groundbreaking for the change in the artist's style. On his return to Paris, he revolutionary destroyed 350 works in his studio and completely departed from the principles of the past. During the Second World War, he served in the army in Morocco, where he became well acquainted with Arab art. Before he went to the Orient, its secrets were accessible to him only through the monumental canvases of the French romantics, but ever since then he has faced them with his own eyes. In 1944, he organized a large exhibition of his artworks, which he opened with a great speech. In it, he defined chiaroscuro, which has been present in European art ever since the great Baroque artists. He characterized it as the main reason for the decline of European painting and called for the return of colour to canvases. He cited Cezanne as an example of good art, who painted in vibrant colours and completely distanced himself from artificial lighting.
After World War II, he spent half the year in Paris and half in New York. He mainly painted vedutes and still lifes, but some proposals for large wall paintings have also been preserved. Music also had a strong influence on de Botton's visual design. His style gradually moved from initial naturalism towards abstraction. In the 50s and 60s, he actively participated in exhibitions in Europe and America. He ended his painting career in 1973, when the artist went blind.
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Jean Isy de Botton je bil vsestransko nadarjen umetnik, ki se je poleg slikarstva ukvarjal še z ilustracijo, oblikovanjem scenografij in kostumov ter pisanjem libreta za balete. Po končanem študiju filozofije se je v 20.ih letih vpisal na École des Beaux-Arts v Parizu. Tam se je uril v kiparstvu in slikarstvu in že v zgodnjih letih izobraževanja pričel intenzivno ustvarjati. V prostem času je veliko potoval po svetu in odkrival kulturne običaje evropskih in ameriških prebivalcev.
Leta 1924 se je odpravil v Španijo. Tam so ga navdušili predvsem manieristični in baročni slikarji, ki so v svojih delih raziskovali svetlobo. Slikal je krajine, marine, vedute, akte, pogosto pa je tudi portretiral. Na začetku ustvarjalne kariere so bile njegove figure močno pod vplivom art decoja. Zanje je značilna ostra linija, ki jo je kasneje vse bolj mehčal. Svoja dela je prvič razstavil leta 1925 na Salonu neodvisnih in zanje dosegel pozitivno kritiko članov žirije. V tridesetih letih se je ponovno odpravil na jug in potoval po mediteranskih deželah. V tem času je prvič ugledal dela Piera della Francesce, ki so bila za spremembo umetnikovega sloga prelomna. Ob vrnitvi v Pariz je svojem ateljeju revolucionarno uničil 350 del in se popolnoma odmaknil od preteklih načel. Med drugo svetovno vojno je služil vojaški rok v Maroku, kjer se je dodobra seznanil z arabsko umetnostjo. Preden se je odpravil na Orient, so mu bile njegove skrivnosti dostopne le preko monumentalnih platen francoskih romantikov, vse od tedaj pa se je z njimi soočil na lastne oči. Leta 1944, je priredil veliko razstavo s svojimi umetninami, ki jo je otvoril z velikim nagovorom. V njem se je opredelil do chiaroscura, ki je bil v evropski umetnosti prisoten vse od velikih baročnih umetnikov. Označil ga je kot glavni povod za propad evropskega slikarstva in pozval k vrnitvi barve v platna. Kot vzor dobre umetnosti je navedel Cezanna, ki je slikal v živahnem koloritu in se je povsem oddaljil od umetne osvetlitve.
V času po drugi svetovni vojni je polovico leta preživel v Parizu, polovico pa v New Yorku. Slikal je predvsem vedute in tihožitja, nekaj pa se je ohranilo tudi predlog za velike stenske poslikave. Na likovno snovanje de Bottona je imela močan vpliv tudi glasba. Njegov stil se je postopoma pomikal od začetnega naturalizma proti abstrakciji. V 50ih in 60 letih je aktivno sodeloval na razstavah v Evropi in v Ameriki. Slikarsko kariero je zaključil leta 1973, ko je umetnik oslepel.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
SOURCES/VIRI:
Frank ELGAR, Jean de Botton, Pariz 1968.
Alfred FRANKENSTEIN, Jean de Botton. Retrospective; Paintings, Frescos, Murals, Drawings, Tapestiries, Stage Settings, Ballets, Book Illustrations (San Francisco, Museum of California, ed. Alfred Frankenstein et all.), San Francisco 1944, pp. 1-84.
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