Maurice Estève

Maurice Estève (Culan, 1904 – 2001) is a French painter. Mostly self-taught, he was active in graphics, stained glass, textile design and collages. He is known for his lyrical experiments with strong colors and interlocking forms. The 1910s and 20s played a crucial role to form his artistic taste and enthusiasm. His visit to the Louvre in 1913 impacted him mostly through works of Paolo Uccello. Spending several years during the World War I back in Culan, he settled in Paris in 1918 and was employed as a typographer’s apprentice. In 1923 he worked as a textile designer in Barcelona. In 1924 he began the education attending the Académie Colarossi in 1924, the only formal training he had. Here, he was exposed to Cubism and implemented motifs from the model of Geroges Braques and Fernand Léger, as well as admiring those of Robert Delaunay.
He was also interested in works of Jean Fouquet, Nicolas Poussin, and also Paul Cézanne. He extended his passion appreciating Fernand Léger and George Braque’s works, which helped him later integrate his passion in art with abstraction inspired by Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.
From 1929 to 1938 he exhibited regularly at the Salon des Surindépendants in Paris and had a first solo exhibition was held by the Galerie Yvangot in Paris in 1930.
In the 1940s, his figurative paintings including still-life and landscape compositions became completely abstract with interwoven shapes in strong colors. From 1941, the contract with the gallery Louis Carré allowed him to devote himself entirely to his art. Here he had his solo exhibition in 1948 and in 1965 as well. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1954, where he established his lyrical abstraction depicting forms and colors in a poetic attitude.
In 1970 he received the Grand Prix National des Arts. In the following years retrospectives of his works were organized and he could gain more fame. In 1986 a significant retrospective exhibition was held at the Grand Palais in Paris, and thanks to Estève’s donation of his major part of works the Estève Museum opened in 1987 in Bourges.
In 1995 Estève settled back in his hometown. His work has been highlighted through exhibitions and retrospectives held in well-known museums and galleries around the world including Tate Gallery in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Pompidou Center in Paris, and private collections.

© Maurice Estève © SAIF © Paris Musées, musée d’Art moderne © RMN-Grand Palais / image ville de Paris