BERNARD LIGNON FRENCH ANTIQUE MODERN ABSTRACT CUBISM CLOWN OIL PAINTING VINTAGE

Description: BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL FRENCH IMPRESSIONIST OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS BY INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN REVERED FRENCH PAINTER BERNARD LIGNON. (French 1921-2007). THIS WORK DEPICTS A WHIMSICAL CLOWN IN A CHECKERBOARD SUIT RIDING AN OLD PENNY-FORTTHING BICYCLE. THE BOLD RED BACKGROUND SERVES AS A DRAMATIC BACKDROP, EMPHASIZING THE VIBRANCY OF THE PAINTING. THE CLOWN DRESSED IN A COLORFUL CHECKERBOARD SUIT EXUDES PLAYFULNESS AND THEATRICALITY. THE OLD PENNY-FARTHING BICYCLE, WITH ITS LARGE FRONT WHEEL AND SMALLER REAR WHEEL, ADDS A TOUCH OF NOSTALGIA TO THE PAINTING. VIBRANT RED TONES CREATE A WARM AND INVITING ATMOSPHERE, DRAWING THE VIEWER'S ATTENTION TO THE PLAYFUL ANTICS OF THE CLOWN AND THE UNIQUE DESIGN OF THE BICYCLE. BERNARD LIGNON BRILLIANTLY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM, INVITING THE VIEWER TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY AND WONDERMENT OF THE CIRCUS. THE DETAILS IN THIS PAINTING ARE SPOT-ON AND AMAZING. SIGNED BY LIGNON ON THE LOWER RIGHTHAND CORNER. IT DATES AROUND THE 1960s. EXCELLENT OVERALL CONDITION. MILD WRINKLING AND WEAR TO THE FRAME, AS SHOWN. IT DOES NOT DETRACT FROM ITS BEAUTY IN ANY WAY. DIMENSIONS: 28” H x 18” W DIMENSIONS WITHOUT THE FRAME: 19”H x 12”W Bernard Lignon (1921 - 2017) was active/lived in France. Bernard Lignon is known for Painting. Bernard Lignon (French, 1921-) is a well known listed French Expressionist painter born in 1921, and is primarily known for his landscapes, Parisian and Venetian cityscapes, street views & canal scenes, marine scenes of harbor & river views, floral still lifes, as well as portraits and figurative works of clowns, harlequins and toreadors. His birthdate is often mislisted as 1928, which is incorrect for this artist. Early in his career, Lignon exhibited in various cities in the United States to include New York, Miami and Chicago. During the late 1950’s-1960’s, he exhibited in London (c1959/60) which was a complete sell out for the artist, and also in and around Paris at places such as Galerie Paul Pétridès (1962, 1964 & 1966) and Galerie Barbizon (1983), who also had represented his work in their galleries. One humorous story from his 1964 exhibit at the Galerie Pétridès from an old newspaper article in The Evening Star (Washington, DC), mentions that one of Lignon’s paintings was purchased by famous film actress Great Garbo. He was disappointed however, because she would give him no other autograph than the one on her check. Lignon questioned, “Should I cash the check and get the money, or keep it and have the autograph? Women always make a man’s life difficult.” Notable friends of Lignon’s included people such as the Italian-French actor and singer Yves Montand, Italian actor Lino Ventura, French film producer Georges Cravenne, Baron Empain and well known furrier & fellow poker player André Ciganer (born Aron Chouganov), father of Cecilia Attias (formerly Cécilia Sarkozy). According to a 2008 article in l'express, the 86 year old Lignon was an inveterate poker player. He and André Ciganer were best friends and they played poker together, and Bernard was known to have put large sums of money on the table during a game. He once stated, “We played almost every night in the rue Marbeuf, and there were big sums of money on the table. I could put up to 20,000 or 30,000 francs and was a big winner.” (equaled about $4,515–$6775 USD at the time) In speaking about his best friend, Lignon said, “I always have a thought for him. I have a zebra-skin that he gave me against a painting I had offered him, a very warm, very touching Jew from Central Europe, Very human.” Compiled by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY, meibohmfinearts.com, from sources: lexpress.fr, online magazine article translated from French, “Cécilia. La face cachée de l'ex-première dame”, 01/31/2008, Courtesy Pygmalion; Past exhibition catalogs from Galerie Paul Pétridès and Galerie Barbizon; fultonhistory.com, online digitized newspaper article, Buffalo Courier-Express (Buffalo, NY), “Through the Periscope”, by Lucy Laureate, Pg. 3-C, Sunday, September 3, 1950, PDF Buffalo NY Courier Express 1950 - 8895.pdf; newspapers.com, online digitized newspaper article, Tucson Daily Citizen, (Tucson, AZ), Pg. 44, Saturday, January 16, 1960; fultonhistory.com, online digitized newspaper article, The Evening Star (Washington, DC), “Garbo Perpetrates A New Quandary”, Saturday, July 11, 1964, PDF Washington DC Evening Star 1964 A - 1096.pdf.)

Price: 2000 USD

Location: Pasadena, California

End Time: 2023-11-26T20:12:47.000Z

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