Jean-Pierre Cassigneul stands among the greatest living French artists, and his canvases reflect his own distinctive style. The present work, entitled Balcon à Dinard, is a testament to his unflinching originality, displaying his unique fusion of French haute couture with traditional portraiture. Brilliantly hued with a delicate palette, this extraordinary oil on canvas embodies the appealing sophistication and timeless elegance of Cassigneul's impressive oeuvre.
His subject, a sophisticated woman in a floral dress, is reminiscent of the elongated, sharply contoured female forms that permeate the work of the Expressionist painter Kees van Dongen. Yet, the style is uniquely Cassigneul, particularly in the air of mystery that surrounds his enigmatic, glamorous subject. Her dress and hat beautifully complement her porcelain skin and the vast sea of blue that stretches behind her, while yachts in the distance lend the scene a feeling of transience. Full of air and lightness while exuding a distinctly French spirit, this extraordinary composition is an undeniable treasure of contemporary French art.
Born in Paris in 1935, Cassigneul was raised in a world of French fashion. His grandfather was the founder of the fashion house Jean Dessès, of which his father became the owner by the time of Cassigneul's birth. Raised among the glamor and excitement of models and dressmakers and runway shows, it is little wonder that Cassigneul would develop a painterly style so infused with the elegance and refinement of Parisian haute couture. He held his first one-man exhibition at the young age of 17 and later entered the Academie Charpentier, only to leave after one year to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. By 1959, he was appointed a member of the Salon d'Automne, and ever since his work has been widely exhibited throughout the world, particularly in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan, where he enjoys an especially devoted following.
