Roger Bezombes (French 1913-1994)

Roger Bezombes was a student at the Ecole des Beaux Arts beginning in 1934. In 1936, he was the recipient of a prize which sent him to Africa, where he painted wonderful colorful compositions; He was the recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome in the same year.
Bezombes was  a follower of the influential artist Maurice Denis, and other artists such as Gaugin, Van Gogh, and Matisse. Bezombes was an avid traveler, using his travels to influence the style and subject matter of his work. He won the Hallmark Prize in 1949 and the Grand Prix National in 1946. In the 50s, he traveled to Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Crete, Israel, North Africa, and the United States.

As of 1954, he became a teacher at the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris. Bezombes paintings were frequently exhibited in Paris at the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Artistes Independants, and the Tuileries. He consistently exhibited at many international group exhibtions, for which he very often received prizes for his work. Some of them include Cairo (1937), Copenhagen (1938), Geneva and New York (1939), Bucharest, Sofia and Athens (1940), Istanbul and Ankara (1941), Lisbon and Barcelona (1942), and Valence and Rio de Janeiro (1945). It is no wonder then, that his work is beloved across the world for its powerful and inimitable style.

Bezombes also had many solo exhibitions in Paris and elsewhere, including at the prestigious galeries Galerie Charpentier and Galerie Andre Weil. At the same time, he was constantly involved in public art projects such as the decoration of the Chapel at the Church of Sacre Coeur de la Corneuve (1940-41). Bezombes was the definition of the "French artist" as we know it today: passionate, driven, and always involved. These qualities are abundantly evident in his art, and for that reason Bezombes' work continues to be highly desired and collected in France and abroad, especially since his death in 1994.