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“Le Hibou” (The Owl), a Limited Edition and Hand-Signed Woodblock by Bernard Lorjou, is an exquisite example of his masterful work. This whimsical, abstract, realist, expressionist portrait of an owl would make a great addition to any art collection

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Bernard Lorjou
"Le Hibou" (The Owl) Limited Edition Hand-Signed Woodblock by Bernard Lorjou
1965

Name: "Le Hibou" (The Owl) Limited Edition Hand-Signed Woodblock by Bernard Lorjou
Brand: Bernard Lorjou
Price: 2500 USD
Availability: InStock

About

“Le Hibou” (The Owl), a Limited Edition and Hand-Signed Woodblock by Bernard Lorjou, is an exquisite example of his masterful work. This whimsical, abstract, realist, expressionist portrait of an owl would make a great addition to any art collection and would work well in a variety of room styles making it a highly adaptable piece. Depending on your choice of frame, this can be the perfect fit in all kinds of room styles from a contemporary or modern room to a cabin retreat or eclectic mix-styled home. Contact us today for custom framing options to best suit this artwork to the style of your residential or commercial project. Bernard Lorjou’s career as an artist, notwithstanding the loneliness and penury of the beginning, is a success story; by the time he was 36 the whole world of art had heard of him and there was a ready market for anything he cared to paint. In the early years he talked mainly of Tintoretto and El Greco and his enthusiasm for Rembrandt developed somewhat later. He professed not to like Van Gogh, but it seems evident that Van Gogh’s late Provençal landscapes must have emboldened him in his early approach to both landscape and portraiture. Lorjou was represented in numerous exhibitions through his career as an artist – in the great salons of Paris and Musee d’ Art Moderne – and alongside some of the leading artists of the 20th Century, including Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, Georges Rouault, Marc Chagall, and Raphael Soyer. At several times in his career, Lorjou might be called an abstract expressionist, inspired by the configuration of the external world, though none of the details relating to authenticity impressed him very much. In exuberant celebration of the natural forms, he developed upon his canvas supernatural, jewel-like pigments and arbitrary, rugged textures that carried the overall pattern so far that one scarcely knows or cares what it represents. But the painting expresses what inspired it with a force of emotion stronger than most abstract canvases. You can find other works we are offering by visiting the "View All From Seller" button below. Artist: BERNARD LORJOU (1908-1986) Title: LE HIBOU (THE OWL) Medium & Surface: COLOR WOODBLOCK ON AUVERGNE PAPER WITH DECKLED EDGES (unframed) Signed/Numbered: HAND SIGNED & NUMBERED IN PENCIL BY ARTIST (WITH LORJOU CUSTOM WATERMARK EMBEDDED IN PAPER) Number: 89 OF 150 Year Created: ≈ 1965 Country of Creation: FRANCE Image Area Dimensions:* 10 x 14 INCHES *The border is not included in the image area dimensions. The 1stdibs “See this artwork in context” feature does not accurately depict the size of the work on the wall. It is larger, because the algorithm does not account for the borders not listed or any framing that you may add. Frame Dimensions:** UNFRAMED **This work of art is being sold unframed. Mock frame images have been provided in the image bank above to help you visualize the work after framing. Contact us for Custom Archival Framing options. Additional Info: THIS WORK HAS NEVER BEEN FRAMED, SO THERE IS NO HINGING OR OTHER REMNANTS FROM FRAMING, WHICH IS RARE TO FIND. IN 1965, LORJOU CREATED WOODBLOCKS FROM HIS ILLUSTRATIONS “LE BESTIAIRE OU CORTÈGE D'ORPHÉE” BY GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED BY EDITIONS D’AUTEUIL AND PRINTED BY ROBERT BLANCHET IN AN EDITION OF 230 COPIES. APOLLINAIRE WAS A HIGHLY ORIGINAL POET WHOSE VISUAL IMAGERY WITH SURREALIST JUXTAPOSITIONS INSPIRED MANY ARTISTS TO ILLUSTRATE HIS WORK, THE MOST POPULAR BEING ALCOOLS, FIRST PUBLISHED WITH A FRONTISPIECE BY PABLO PICASSO IN 1913. A NUMBER OF ARTISTS ILLUSTRATED HIS BESTIAIRE. IT IS A COLLECTION OF SHORT POEMS, EACH REPRESENTING THE QUALITIES OF A PARTICULAR ANIMAL. WHEN FIRST PUBLISHED, IN 1911, IT WAS ILLUSTRATED WITH WOODCUTS BY RAOUL DUFY. THE LORJOU WOODCUT FEATURED IN THIS LISTING IS ONE OF THOSE WORKS, “LE HIBOU.” IN THE PHOTO BANK ABOVE, WE HAVE INCLUDED IMAGES OF HIS STUDIO WITH MANY OF THE WORKS FEATURED IN “LE BESTIAIRE,” WITH “LE HIBOU” (THE OWL) SHOWN LAYING ON THE FLOOR IN THE CENTER OF OTHER WORKS IN ONE OF THE IMAGES. A RARE PROOF OF THIS WORK IS IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM IN LONDON, BEQUEATHED BY POET AND SCHOLAR WALTER STRACHAN. IN APOLLINAIRE’S OWN WORDS, HE DESCRIBES THE OWL: “MY POOR HEART IS AN OWL WE NAIL, WE UNCLAMP, WE RECLAIM. BLOOD, ARDOR, HE IS EXHAUSTED. ALL THOSE WHO LOVE ME, I PRAISE THEM.” Artist Info/Bio: ARTIST BIOGRAPHY DOCUMENT IS INCLUDED Documentation: CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY BY CALIFORNIA FINE ART BROKERS IS INCLUDED A piece for the true collector. Bernard Lorjou was born on September 9, 1908 in Blois, France, a somber village of picturesque houses on the Loire River, thirty-two miles from Tours. He was the youngest of 3 children and a born painter, indulging in all the childish pranks to obtain crayons and suitable materials to satisfy his strong desire to draw and paint. In 1924, he headed to Paris, where he lived in extreme poverty in a small room on the rue Raspail. Eventually, his funds ran out, so he started sleeping in the Orsay train station. Within a year, he found work with the silk house Ducharne. He used his income at Ducharne to finance his formal studies at the Evening School of the City of Paris. As a matter of course, he was taught a kind of 19th Century realism, dark and painstaking. His canvases show brilliant brushwork, filled with an emotional intensity that was to typify countless canvases. At Ducharne, he designed patterns for prints that became sought by fashion houses ranging from Jacques Fath, Balmain, Lanvin, and Christian Dior, and worn by many notable women of the period, including Marlene Dietrich, Dolores del Rio, Jane Aubert, and the Duchess of Windsor. At Ducharne, Lorjou met his wife Yvonne Mottet, also an artist. Mottet taught Lorjou conventional drawing and her influence on his work and life were profound. Her kind, gentle but direct force humanized and appeased his volcanic personality. In 1934, Lorjou and Mottet setup an art studio in Montmartre, Paris. We have included some images of Lorjou in his studio, featured on “L'art vivant – 1949,” which you can search for on the web. Lorjou is featured in his studio at the 9-minute marker. This same studio was featured in the 1996 movie, “Everyone Says I Love You.” You can find a clip by searching the web for the movie title and Lorjou. We have included a photo of him in his studio in the photo bank above. In 1939, Lorjou returned to Blois as German troops began invading France. During his short time as mayor, he recalled “housing, treating, burying, feeding” many of the town’s citizens. In 1942, he displayed works for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants. Three years later in 1945, Lorjou held his first solo exhibition in Paris at the Galerie du Bac. Less than a year later, the Galerie du Bac held an exhibition dedicated to the emerging style of “Expressionist” artists from different countries, featuring artists such as Soutine, Rouault, Goerg, Ensor, Beckman, and Lorjou. In 1948, Lorjou was named co-recipient of the coveted Prix de la Critique award with Bernard Buffet. That same year, Lorjou formed the artistic group L’Homme Témoin with the art critic Jean Bouret to defend figurative painting. The group originally comprised 5 members and shortly thereafter expanded to include other artists, including Bernard Buffet, Jean Couty, Minaux, and Simone Dat. A photo of some of the group members can be found in the image bank above, with Bernard Buffet standing at the center and Bernard Lorjou seated to his left wearing glasses. In 1950, Lorjou painted and exhibited a series of large format paintings inspired from current events, namely “L'Age Atomique,” today owned by the French Government and held at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Over the next 10 years, Lorjou painted a series of widely acclaimed works now held by major museums worldwide. In 1963, Lorjou rented a barge named La Touraine to navigate up and down the Seine River in Paris for 3 days. There were a number of politically-charge monumental paintings on display, including “La Mort de John XXIII,” “Grimau’s Blood,” and “July 14th.” Local authorities eventually stopped the barge. Photos of the barge exhibit are included in the photo bank above. In 1965, Lorjou created woodblocks from his illustrations “Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée” by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was published by Editions d’Auteuil and printed by Robert Blanchet in an edition of 230 copies. Apollinaire was a highly original poet whose visual imagery with surrealist juxtapositions inspired many artists to illustrate his work, the most popular being Alcools, first published with a frontispiece by Pablo Picasso in 1913. A number of artists illustrated his Bestiaire. It is a collection of short poems, each representing the qualities of a particular animal. When first published, in 1911, it was illustrated with woodcuts by Raoul Dufy. The woodcut featured in this listing is one of those works, “Le Hibou” (owl). In the photo bank above, we have included images of his studio with many of the works featured in “Le Bestiaire,” with “Le Hibou” shown laying on the floor in the center of other works in one of the images. In 1968, his wife and companion of 40 years, Yvonne Mottet, passed away from leukemia. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, Lorjou created iconic works and exhibited them throughout the globe. These included acclaimed exhibitions, such as “The Sharon Tate Assassination,” “Bullfights,” and “Lorjou in Private French Collections.” In 1985, The Palais de l'Europe organized a retrospective on Lorjou. The same year, Lorjou organized his last exhibit in Paris with a series of tarps around the theme of AIDS. On January 26, 1986, the last day of his AIDS exhibit, Lorjou died of an asthma attack. Posthumous exhibits were held in Venezuela and Japan.

Details

Artist
Bernard Lorjou (1908-1986, French)
Creation Year
1965
Medium
Woodcut

Movement & Style
Expressionist
Condition
Excellent
Condition Details
This work is in excellent condition consistent with age and process. It is sold unframed. Contact us for Custom Archival Framing options.

Period
1960-1969
Dimensions
H 14 in. x W 10 in.H 35.56 cm x W 25.4 cm
Gallery Location
Los Angeles, CA

Reference Number
LU94533766111

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