Lucien Fontanarosa : exposition chez Bernheim-Jeune, Paris – Exhibition at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery, Paris

"Cette exposition d'un caractère rétrospectif du peintre français d'origine italienne Lucien Fontanarosa (1912-1975) permet de prendre la mesure d'une œuvre ajustée au rythme de la nature. Une vocation acharnée a conduit le condisciple de Humblot, de Rohner et de Brayer sur les chemins d'un épanouissement pictural. Son parcours est riche en expositions, en commandes officielles, en prix illustres jusqu'à sa nomination à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts en 1955. La notoriété qu'il connaît de son vivant, son succès auprès des amateurs qui le retrouvent dans les Salons et lors de ses expositions à la Galerie Chardin à laquelle il reste fidèle de 1947 à sa mort (exposition posthume en 1976) n'ont pas ébranlé cet homme simple et intransigeant, entièrement tourné sur son art. Un enthousiasme et une appétence de la vie transfigurent sa peinture.
Après des débuts où la maîtrise de ses acquis techniques lui vaut le prix de Rome (1936), Fontanarosa acquiert une éloquence picturale. Ses dons, sa virtuosité s'exercent dans des sujets dont il saisit la puissance évocatrice. Sa joie de peindre se traduit en bonheur de l'instant. Elle lui fait transposer le quotidien de sa vie familiale en moments de contemplation rêveuse. Ses enfants, qu'il prend pour modèles, deviennent arlequin et colombine. Ils semblent sortis d'une fête vénitienne.
La couleur, réduite dans les premiers tableaux à quatre ou cinq tons, magnifie la lumière, la fait vibrer dans les fonds émaillés, alors que les ombres modulent les formes pour suggérer un léger relief. Le dessin s'en trouve spontanément ravivé. Longuement mûries, les scènes exaltent émotion et pensée. Ayant des dons d'observation, l'artiste traduit pourtant sa vision au delà de la ressemblance. L'expression doit développer le rythme intérieur des formes et l'inspiration épauler l'harmonie colorée. S'appuyant sur cette faculté d'établir des correspondances et sur cette sensibilité toute musicale, Lucien Fontanarosa a illustré de nombreux ouvrages de Ronsard à Gide, de Mac Orlan à Emily Brontë."

Lydia Harambourg

"This retrospective exhibition of the Italian-born French painter Lucien Fontanarosa (1912-1975) allows us to measure a body of work calibrated to the rhythm of nature. Talent and determination led Fontanarosa – a fellow student of Humblot, Rohner and Brayer – along the road to pictorial development. It was a journey that was rich for him in terms of exhibitions, official commissions, and illustrious prizes, all the way to his nomination to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1955. This simple and uncompromising man, always so focused on his art, could not be ruffled by either the fame that he enjoyed during his lifetime or by his popularity with the art connoisseurs that met him at the Salons and exhibitions at the Galerie Chardin – a gallery to which he remained loyal from 1947 until his death (the posthumous exhibition of 1976). In short, his enthusiasm and thirst for life transformed his painting.
After an initial debut in which his ability to master his technical skills earned him the prix de Rome (1936), Fontanarosa acquired pictorial eloquence. His talent and virtuosity came out in the subjects because he was able to grasp their evocative power. His joy of painting translated into a happiness of the moment. It enabled him to transpose the everyday reality of his family life into moments of dreamy contemplation. His children, whom he used as models, became Harlequin and Colombine. It was as if they had stepped out of a Venetian carnival.
The colour, reduced in his initial paintings to four or five tones, magnifies the light and sets it resonating in the background tinctures while the shadows alter the shapes to suggest a slight relief. In this way, the drawing is spontaneously given additional life. The carefully developed scenes glorify emotion and thought. Having a gift for observation, the artist was nonetheless able to translate his vision beyond mere resemblance. The expression must develop the inner rhythm of the forms and the inspiration encourage tonal harmony. By exploiting both his ability to establish connections and his musical sensibilities, Lucien Fontanarosa illustrated numerous works by authors as different as Ronsard and Gide or Mac Orlan and Emily Bronte."

Lydia Harambourg

Lucien Fontanarosa : decorations in French public institutions / Museums – décorations dans des bâtiments publics / Musées

Many works of Lucien Fontanarosa can be seen in several museums and public institutions in France, for example :

Frescoes and decorations

[1941] Fresco in the Marcelin Berthelot high school of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (16 m2)6 Boulevard Maurice Berteaux,94100 SAINT-MAURTel. 33- 0 145 11 51 11

[1942-43] Decoration of the Richelieu lecture theatre of the Faculty of Arts in Poitiers

[1950] Decoration of the chapel of the Saint-Camille hospital in Bry-sur-Marne (10 m2)2 Rue des pères Camilliens,94360 BRY SUR MARNETel. 33- 0 149 83 10 10

[1952-53] Decoration of Nogent-le-Rotrou’s high school (4 panels of 3 m2)Lycée Professionnel33 Rue de la Bretonnerie,28400 NOGENT LE ROTROUTel. 33- 0 237 29 30 00

[1955] Decoration of Malakoff technical high school (33m2)85 Rue Louis Girard,92240 MALAKOFFTel. 33- 0 146 42 63 84

[1961] Decoration of Ecole Supérieure Estienne 18 Boulevard Auguste Blanqui,75013 PARISTel. 33- 0 155 43 47 47

[1962] Decoration of the library of the Science Faculty of the Orsay UniversityUniversité Paris Sud,91400 ORSAYTel. 33- 0 169 15 67 50

[1964] Decoration of the ceiling of the Lycée Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves in Nice (celebration of the sea )13 Avenue d’Estienne d’Orves,06000 NICETel. 33- 0 493 97 12 00

[1964] Decoration of the Châtellerault technical high schoolCité Technique Edouard Branly,2 Rue Branly, BP 613, 86106 CHATELLERAULTTel. 33- 0 549 02 52 60- 0 549 02 52 52

[1964] Decoration for the Salon de la Philatélie (stamp collecting fair) then transferred to the central post office in Mâcon3 Rue Victor Hugo71000 MACONTel. 33- 0 385 21 05 50

[1965] Decoration of the Pierre de Ronsard school in the 17th district of Paris (four panels : the four seasons)140 Avenue de Wagram, 75017 PARISTel. 33- 0 147 63 30 55- 0 147 63 16 17

[1966] Decoration of the Lycée Edouard Vaillant in Vierzon41 bis Rue Charles Hurvoy, 18100 VIERZONTel. 33- 0 248 71 17 24- 0 248 71 91 78

[1968] Decoration of the Gaston Berger high school in Lille (on the theme of sports)Avenue Gaston Berger, 59000 LILLETel. 33- 0 320 49 31 59

Museums

[1939] SS. Cyril and Methodius International Foundation - Art Gallery Sofia - Bulgarie (Figures with a guitar)Alexander Nevsky Square, 1-19 February Street, 1000 SOFIA / BULGARIATel. 88 49 22

[1943] French State purchase, for the Château-Gontier city hall - Mayenne (Horses)23 Place de la République, 53200 CHATEAU GONTIER / FRANCETel. 33- 0 243 09 55 55

[1947] French State purchase for the French Ministry of Finance (Pears and lemons) now at the Roubaix Art and industry Museum
Musée d'art et d'industrie 17 Grand Place, 59100 ROUBAIX / FRANCETel. 33- 0 320 66 46 93

[1950] City of Paris purchase ( Neuilly sur Marne lock-gate - 1943) deposit at the Musée de l’Ile de France in SceauxDomaine du Parc de Sceaux, 92330 SCEAUX / FRANCETel. 33- 0 146 61 06 71

[1974] Musée National du Sport (French national sport Museum) - Paris - (The boxer - 1957)Parc des Princes, 24 Rue du Commandant Guilbaud, 75116 PARIS / FRANCETel. 33- 0 140 45 99 12