Jean Rustin: The Abstract Painter Who Turned Figurative
Jean Rustin, who was born in 1928 in Montigny-lès-Metz, France, has quietly made his mark on the French art scene for over four decades. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and initially worked as an abstract painter, drawing inspiration from Cobra, Pierre Bonnard, and Paul Klee. A pivotal solo show at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1971 prompted him to shift from abstraction to figuration. His 1982 exhibition at the Maison des Arts de Créteil, showcasing nude figures, stirred controversy. In the late 1960s, he transitioned from oil to acrylic paints due to skin issues. Notable recent exhibitions include Galerie Polad-Hardouin (2008) and Halle Saint-Pierre (September 10-October 18, 2009).
Key facts
- Jean Rustin was born in 1928 in Montigny-lès-Metz, France.
- He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris for five years without joining a painting workshop.
- His first exhibition was in 1956 at Galerie La Roue, directed by Guy Resse.
- In 1971, he had a major solo exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, showing 100-150 abstract works.
- He abandoned abstraction in 1971 after drawing a horizontal line dividing the canvas into earth and sky.
- His 1982 exhibition at Maison des Arts de Créteil featuring nudes caused a scandal and police intervention.
- In 1985, collector Marnix Neerman purchased hundreds of his works.
- He switched from oil to acrylic paint in the late 1960s due to skin irritation from turpentine.
Entities
Artists
- Jean Rustin
- Pierre Bonnard
- Paul Klee
- Mark Rothko
- Paul Cézanne
- Jacques-Louis David
- Eugène Delacroix
- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
- Wols
- Samuel Beckett
- Eugène Ionesco
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Leo Tolstoy
- Alexander Pushkin
- Charles Baudelaire
- Victor Hugo
- Gustave Flaubert
- Marcel Proust
- Louis Aragon
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- Johann Sebastian Bach
Institutions
- École des Beaux-Arts
- Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
- Maison des Arts de Créteil
- Galerie Polad-Hardouin
- Pavillon des Arts et du Design
- Halle Saint-Pierre
- Galerie La Roue
- Fondation Vallée
- Galerie Hof & Huyser
- Galerie Matara
- Galerie Morand
- Galerie Humus
- Galerie Franz Pedersen
- Montrasio Arte
- Galerie Mito
- artpress
Locations
- Montigny-lès-Metz
- France
- Paris
- Créteil
- Villejuif
- Bruges
- Netherlands
- Amsterdam
- Marseille
- Geneva
- Lausanne
- Horssens
- Milan
- Barcelona
Sources
- artpress —