Jean-Pierre Cassigneul
b.1935 | French

L’air qu’on respire
(The Air We Breath)

Signed “Cassigneul” (lower right)
Signed, titled and dated "L’air qu’on respire / Cassigneul / 2001" (en verso)
Oil on canvas

This captivating work renders the blushing countenance of an elegant woman clad in a chic dress and elaborate sun hat. Set against the backdrop of the sea, Jean-Pierre Cassigneul's L’air qu’on respire, or The Air We Breath embodies the carefree optimism of life along the shore. The artist is renowned for his elegant portraits that punctuate atmospheres of sophistication and tranquility with brilliant pops of color. His unique upbringing in the world of French fashion is keenly felt in the composition, as he takes equal care to render the details of the woman's voluminous hat as he does to paint the details of her enigmatic visage.

One of the most popular living French artists, Cassigneul is set apart by his unique ability to produce works that feel both dramatically contemporary and classic in style. L’air qu’on respire brings together two of his favorite subjects: a fashionable, sleepy-eyed ingenue and the beautiful French Riviera. With its vibrant palette and flat spatial planes, Cassigneul’s style follows in the tradition of the French Post-Impressionist group known as Les Nabis, which included celebrated French artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, as well as the output of the Fauvists. Expressionist painter Kees van Dongen was another important influence on the young Cassigneul, whose portraits resemble van Dongen’s elongated, sharply contoured female forms.

Born in Paris in 1935, Cassigneul's grandfather was the founder of the ground-breaking French fashion house Jean Dessès. Raised among the glamor and excitement of the Parisian fashion world, the young Cassigneul observed models and dressmakers and runway shows from a very young age. His interest in art also manifested early, and he painted his first landscape at Deauville at the young age of 12. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, holding his first one-man exhibition at just 17. Since that first show, 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.

Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Dated 2001