‘LE VERRE NOIR’ LITHOGRAPH BY ROGER CHAPELAIN-MIDY (1960s)

A rather bloodless nature morte (still life) by French lithographer ROGER CHAPELAIN-MIDY (1904–1992). The dramatic composition centers on a black goblet and a knife, surrounded by an overripe banana, green grapes, a lemon, and a d’Anjou pear. The picture space is a mish-mash of contradictory perspectives that suggest the effects of theatrical lighting, as does the washed-out palette. Figurative and realistic for the most part, advance notice is given here of Chapelin-Midy’s later foray into Surrealism. Signed and numbered by the artist.

ROGER CHAPELAIN-MIDY (1904–1992) was a French painter, lithographer, illustrator, and theatrical designer. In a modern era of great artistic upheaval, he remained fascinated by the painting of the Renaissance and the 17^th century—in particular by the work of Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), the great French Baroque master. Born in Paris, he developed his artistic skills at the École des Beaux-Arts and later trained in the ateliers of Montmartre. Upholding classical tradition, he produced mainly still lifes and landscapes for the majority of his career.

After service in the demilitarized Rhenanie (the Rhineland), Chapelain-Midy enrolled at the Academie de Montparnasse. In 1927 he exhibited at the Salon de Automne and became a member in that same year. After 1929, his work could be found at the Salon des Independents as well as at the Salon des Tuileries. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Americas. His work was exhibited at the Exposition d’Art Francais de Londres in 1938; at the Venice Biennale in 1937; in Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Namur in 1938; in Aarhus (Denmark), Bucharest, Buenos-Aires, Chicago, and New York in 1939; in Lisbon and Barcelona in 1942; and in Madrid in 1943.

A talented set and costume designer, Chapelain notably worked on Paris Opera productions of Rameau’s Les Indes galantes in 1952 and Mozart’s The Magic Flute in 1954. He also provided illustrations for texts by the writers Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944), André Gide (1869–1951), Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), Charles Vildrac (1882–1971), and Georges Simonen (1903–1989). Chapelain-Midy designed interior décor for the Town Hall in Paris’s 4th Arrondissement, the foyer of the Nouveau Theatre du Palais de Challiot, the Agricultural Institute, and the Natural History Museum. He was commissioned to provide drawings for wall tapestries on the theme of the four elements for the famous Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, then President of the French Republic, commissioned a Portrait of General de Gaulle from him for the Élysée Palace in Paris.

In a late-career digression of symbolism and surrealism, a whole part of his work bears the imprint of his spiritual preoccupations, materialized by the haunting recurrence of decorations and unusual objects such as checkerboard tiles, masks, mannequins, and mirrors. Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978).

Public collections of Chapelain-Midy’s work in France are held at the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, and the Museums of Albi, Angers, Bordeaux, Cambrai, Dijon, Dreux, Épinal, Fontainebleau, La Rochelle, La Tronche, Le Mans, Lyon, Menton, Remiremont, Rouen, Saintes, and Saint-Etienne. Collections are held abroad in museums in Algiers, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Birmingham, Brussels, Cairo, London, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, and Sofia.

Notable post-war exhibitions included those in Paris in 1947, New York in 1954, London in 1957, Geneva in 1958 and 1966, and Paris again in 1962 and 1967 with two retrospectives at the Musee de Bordeaux in 1965 and Nice in 1968.

Chapelain-Midy died in Paris in 1992.

DETAILS

Artist – ROGER CHAPELAIN-MIDY (1904–1992)

Period/Year – 1960s

Origin – FRANCE

Styles/Movements – STYLES

Media – LITHOGRAPH

Support – SUPPORT

Edition – EDITION

Colors – COLORS

Condition – Excellent vintage condition. May show minor signs of previous ownership and use.

Dimensions – 38 ¼" H × 30 ¾" W × 1 ½" D