WHEN THE PISCINE REFLECTS ITS OWN COLOURS

    
This particular poster fascinated me. The man didn’t look totally French nor totally anything I knew. It was an exhibition on at the Piscine in Roubaix which we have visited together in the past. I love the place and Laurent had told me he wanted to go there again - after xx years. Jean Martin (1911-1996) looked like a good proposition.

The Exciled - I talk about it below...

It was quite an odd title « From the workshop to the theatre ». That also intrigued me.  Were we to see theatrical costumes and why from this artist?

Jean Martin was born in Lyon, the son of a laborer. Self taught he developed an assiduous talent for drawing and painting and soon caught the attention of a painter and sculpter I didn’t know either. Lucien Féchant and Georges Salendre.

Some of his work was presented for the first time at the Salon d’Automne in 1933 and other salons as well before he went to Paris.  There he joined up with other (and unknown) artists and they formed what was called « Forces Nouvelles » (« New Strength »)
During the occupation he exhibited regularly in the Katia Granola Gallery in Paris and participated in the development of an avant-gardism magazine.

By 1946 he was installed in Paris working for the theatre and television. So this is where the costumes came in.  There were many of them and frankly a big change for me from the usual theatrical costume designs.  Just look at the faces of his drawings.They come alive, completely alive.

I have not added the titles or shows for these costumes or sets. I frankly feel they are lovely to look at just for themselves. Sometimes though you can see the title on the painting. The two first ones are huge costumes used for the parades. (see below). 

Ajouter une légende

Ajouter une légende

As interesting as they were, Laurent and I felt dissatisfied. Where were his paintings? We took our time wandering around the museum and it was quite by chance that we « fell on them ». The museum looked beautiful though and the sun flooded through the coloured windows. It was a joy to be there.

Laurent of course

Study for the yellow dress (Janine Martin) 1941

The Woman with green gloves ( 1941)

Self portrait - 1933

Those asleep in the morning - 1936

The Woman with the pigeon - 1937

The Blind - 1937

Head of a tortued victim - 1938

The wound on his side - 1940

The wounded soldier - 1940

The Poet - a tribute to René Leynaud - 1944

The Concern of a Mother - 1936

Ironing - 1936

Light shirts - 1938

Street Vendor - 1938

The Watchman (!) - 1934

A Man eating - 1935

The glass of wine - 1940

A man asleep - 1942

The Son of Beadle - 1933

Maternity - 1934

The Saint Family

The Blindman - 1933

The ladies in a workshop or The Models - 1940

The Annonciation - 1935

Red headed girl or Portrait of Marianne Oswald - 1943

Study for nude woman -1940

Rosette asleep - 1937

Study for Toilette - 1940

The Pearls - 1939

The long shirt - 1942

In his later work, after the war, you saw at once how concerned he had been and how sensitive to peoples’ problems and dramas in life generally. Some of the figures are not unlike Greco, or even Picasso.

There is something else that really intrigued me. All his paintings seem to have huge hands and feet. Did you see that ?


Sometimes the babies look like minature dolls rather than babies. 

A painting called « The Exiled » which is a very ambitions composition in my book, showing a young German deserter who had been persecuted by the Nazi regime. It was Martin who helped him out when he came to Lyon.That is the photo you saw at the beginning and the poster for the exhibition.


In the late 40’s he constructed many theatrical decors, masks, costumes and giant structures which were in a parade organized in Valence. (The first two cosumes above.)  Until his death he went on creating decors and costumes…seemingly an unusual mixture but for sure his work is fascinating.