Georges Mathieu
| Georges Mathieu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
27 January 1921 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France |
| Died | 10 June 2012 (aged 91) Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Resting place |
Montmartre Cemetery 48°53′16″N 2°19′44″E / 48.8877523°N 2.3290011°E |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Painting, writing |
| Notable work | La Bataille de Bouvines (1954), Hommage au Maréchal de Turenne (1952) |
| Movement | Lyrical abstraction, Tachisme |
Georges Mathieu (27 January 1921 Boulogne-sur-Mer – 10 June 2012 Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French abstract painter, art theorist and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is considered one of the fathers of European lyrical abstraction, a trend of informalism.
Mathieu was born in 1921 in Boulogne-sur-Mer. His father Adolphe Georges Mathieu, bank manager at Barclays, and his mother Madeleine Durpé, who taught him drawing as a child, lived besides the ramparts of the city, 38 boulevard du Prince Albert. In 1933 Mathieu's parents divorced and he was placed in the care of his aunt in Versailles.
From 1927 to 1933, he followed his scholarship in various schools of Boulogne-sur-Mer and later in Lycée Hoche in Versailles. Thereafter, he studied English and Law at the University of Lille.
Mathieu obtained a position as an English teacher in 1942 at the lycée of Douai in the north of France. During the following years, he held several jobs serving as an interpreter for the American Army in Cambrai in 1944, teaching in the American University of Biarritz and in Istres during years 1945-46.
In 1942, he executed figurative paintings of England from postcards as a hobby (Oxford Street By Night). Later during year 1944, he began his reflection on aesthetics held by the following concept: painting does not need to represent to exist. This revelation originates from the readings of Edward Crankshaw and his interpretation of the work of Joseph Conrad as an abstract literature. Consequently, he executed his first non-figurative painting, Inception.
In 1947, he settled in Paris, employed the American Express, and rented a chambre de bonne near the Luxembourg Palace.
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