Maurice Asselin

Maurice Asselin (1882-1947) Le Masque blanc, oil on canvas, signed

circa 1930

Maurice Asselin is a painter and engraver, a member of the École de Paris. For the famous art historian, Bernard Dorival, Asselin was with André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Charles Dufresne, Paul-Elie Gernez and Henry de Waroquier, among the painters of the "realistic reaction" which to "idealism and photographic realism" of the academic tradition of the 19th century," prefer the frank realism of the Impressionists and the sincerity with which they questioned the nature. Against the unrealism of cubists, they pose as heirs of the independent masters of the third quarter of the 19th century. And Dorival strongly supports his statement by quoting our artist, "If you like painting, you will not only ask it to be a decoration for the walls of your home but first of all to be food for your life interior," thus professes Asselin who continues, "no brain combination, no theory can give birth to a work of art... Art springs from the marveled love of life."