Design for a Driveway with Poplars. Original gouache.

Paris: Circa 1940s-50s. Gouache on paper. Tears in the margins. 32 x 50Partie d'atelier de Pierre Charbonnier (1897-1978) Dessins et tableaux..Expertise by Frédérick Chanoit & Pauline Chanoit, Paris....Pierre Charbonnier was a student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyons in 1915 and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1920. Outside these institutions he received lessons from Maurice Denis, Vuillard and Bonnard. He was friends with several contemporary poets and his exhibitions were often presented by André Salmon, René Char, Francis Ponge and Jacques Prévert....A large proportion of his work was as a decorative artist and illustrator; for example, he painted a floral decoration for a building designed by Auguste Perret. He also illustrated The Model Wedding of Mie Saucée ( Les Noces Exemplaires de Mie Saucée) by André Salmon; Atala by Chateaubriand and The Bestiary ( Le Bestiaire) by F. Dodet. He did a considerable amount of cinema work, including a film set for Ode, a ballet by B. Kochno at the Ballets S. de Diaghilev. He also made his own films: Contact (Belgian Electricity) in 1930 and Pirates du Rhône and Bracos de Sologne with J. Aurenche in 1933. As early as 1934 Charbonnier produced a feature-length animation entitled Enchanted Fortune ( La Fortune Enchantée). He created the sets for almost all of Robert Bresson's films. He was also the lighting director for The Mystic Lamb ( L'Agneau Mystique), a mystery play shown in the square in front of Ghent Cathedral in Belgium.After World War II, his paintings often concentrate on the invasion of urban space by concrete constructions, which he views with an angelic eye, detailing the delicate tricks of light that play on their interminable façades. His harsh brushstrokes govern the rare colour harmonies in his paintings.Charbonnier took part in the Salon des Artistes Indépendants from 1919 to 1926, the Salon d'Automne from 1923 to 1928 and the Salon des Tuileries since its inception. He also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the São Paulo Biennales of 1952 and 1954 and the Salon de Mai in 1967. He won the Prix Lissone in 1953. He staged his first solo exhibition in 1921 in the foyer of the Théâtre de l'Œuvre in Paris, followed by many more, mostly in Paris and Belgium. In 1974 an exhibition of his works toured the French provinces and was shown at the Maison de la Culture in St-Étienne and the Musée de Montpellier.