Charles Malle

Entertainment at rue Clisson in Paris. Oil on canvas, 54x65 cm

Charles Gleize, known as Charles Malle, was born on August 9 1935 in Douai in Northern France and brought up in a family of craftsmen. His Post-Impressionist paintings are very popular and collectible in both France and the United States. He is associated with the School of Montmartre, a loosely knit group of painters that goes back to the time when Montmartre was little more than a bohemian village. He follows in the footsteps of Degas, Monet, Manet, Alphonse Quizet, Elise Maclet and Maurice Utrillo. Charles Malle’s paintings represent a world that is no longer. He renders his dreams on canvas. Although some details are recognizable, he is painting his cherished childhood. In his easel paintings, the artist is remembering his short, but blissful childhood. In 1950, his father’s death brought an abrupt end to that bliss. He mourned for many months and helped his mother instead of playing with friends. This is when he began to draw and plan his future. He went away to boarding school to learn art techniques and study the history of art. Malle studied art at St. Luke’s school in Tournai, Belgium for 2 years than at the ENSAIT (Higher National School for Art and Textile Industry) in Roubaix, France for 5 years. He also trained in drawing and painting and studied art history. Besides painting Paris and the river Seine, he also paints Northern France, the ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk, Rouen and the Normandy coastline and the ports of Dieppe and le Treport, Fecamp in Trouville. He has also painted in Southern France in Marseille and its environs.