Jules Marcel-Lenoir (1872 – 1931)
Marcel-Lenoir was born Jules Oury on May 12, 1872 in Montauban, France. Marcel-Lenoir moved to Paris in 1889 and attended l’Ecole des Arts Decoratifs for six months. He was greatly influenced by the Italian painters represented at the Louvre and works from the Middle Ages at the Cluny museum. Marcel-Lenoir’s highly stylized Symbolist works came before the turn of the 20th century. He participated in the Salons de Rose-Croix, which began in 1892. This group of artists used Catholic symbolism and symbols from the occult in their paintings. The Salons de la Rose-Croix were conceived and presented by Peladan as gestes esthetiques, it was to be synthesis of the visual arts, literature and music. He also produced beautiful lithographs including one published by l’Estampe Moderne.
In 1902 he returned to Montauban and began to write poetry and paint landscapes. As early as 1912 he incorporated cubist elements in his technique. With his roots in Symbolism and modern style he produced allegorical paintings of beautiful god like people playing in forests. These works are typical of the Art Deco movement. In the 1920s he began to employ a pointillist technique, but his subjects remained consistent.
Marcel-Lenoir was also known for his frescoes, some with religious symbolism. Marcel Lenoir died in 1931 at the age of 59 in Montricoux. He left almost 700 paintings and drawings. His work is collected in the museums of Vienna and the Musee Marcel-Lenoir in Montauban.
Information courtesy of Charlton Hall Galleries, February 2007