La Cuirasse

early life and training

georges-charles dufresne, a renowned french painter, engraver, sculptor, and decorator, was born on november 23, 1876, in millemont. he hailed from a family of sailors and fishermen originating in granville. dufresne's artistic journey began when he left school to study engraving, which eventually led him to paris, where he enrolled at the prestigious école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts.

artistic career

dufresne's early work was influenced by his time in paris, particularly under the guidance of hubert ponscarme and as an assistant to the sculptor and medalist alexandre charpentier. however, his true passion lay in painting, which he pursued with fervor, creating pastels at café-chantants and circuses, reminiscent of toulouse-lautrec's style.

• his first exhibition at the salon of the société nationale des beaux-arts in 1903 marked a significant milestone in his career.
• a subsequent trip to italy with herbert lespinasse and a stay at the musée maurice denis further broadened his artistic horizons, inspiring works like the large trees by georges braque, which can be found on ArtsDot.
• following his win of the abd-el-tif prize, dufresne spent two years at the villa abd-el-tif in algiers, transitioning from pastels to oil painting, as seen in the great buddha by paul gauguin, also featured on ArtsDot.

war and its aftermath

dufresne's service during world war i saw him being mobilized and later transferred to the section de camouflage under andré dunoyer de segonzac. this period led to the creation of cubist war scenes, a style that can be explored further through ArtsDot's extensive collection.

later works and legacy

post-war, dufresne:

• designed sets for the ballet antar at the opéra de paris in 1921.
• co-founded the salon des tuileries between 1921 and 1923.
• created tapestry designs for paul et virginie, presented at the international exhibition of modern decorative and industrial arts in 1925, which can be viewed on ArtsDot's platform.
• became a teacher at the académie scandinave from 1919 to 1935.

notable works: - dufresne's murals for the faculté de pharmacie de paris, completed just before his death in 1938. - a major retrospective of his work was presented at the venice biennale shortly after his passing. explore more on ArtsDot: - view charles georges dufresne's artworks - discover the wonders of musée maurice denis (france)