Pierre Dumont
Parigi, 1884 - Rouen, 1936
Influenced by the paintings of Van Gogh and Cézanne, he paints landscapes of strong colors, with thick and fat matter, lying on canvas as if sculpting his vision. In 1912, he exhibited three paintings at the "Section d'Or" in Paris, alongside the works of Marcel Duchamp, André Lhote, Francis Picabia. Apollinaire and Reverdy write about him. The vigour and intensity of his landscapes, especially Parisian, impresses the audience.
He was born in Paris but, because of his father’s work commitments, the family soon returned to Rouen, the city of origin.
At Corneille High School the young Dumont met Marcel Duchamp and Robert Pinchon, and although his decision to devote himself to painting was not well received by his father, he continued to practice. Influenced by the paintings of Van Gogh and Cézanne, he paints landscapes of strong colors, with thick and fat matter, lying on canvas as if sculpting his vision. To tame the decidedly expressionist palette, to which the public of Rouen is not yet accustomed, he entered the Academy of Joseph Delattre.
His first paintings were exhibited in February 1906 at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen; at the age of twenty-two Dumont organized his first solo show. The works presented, depicting landscapes of Normandy (banks of the Seine, scenes of harvesting...), are fully in the artistic tradition of the Ecole de Rouen, distinguishing itself for a very personal technique, obtained with wide touches of pure tones.
The same year he took part in the first event of the "Societé des Artistes Rouennais" and the public indicated him as revolutionary. The critic G. Dubosc writes in the "Journal de Rouen: " ... M.P. Dumont does not yet seek official consecration. An avant-garde temperament, full of boldness and stubbornness [...] in his personal exhibition he had already shown his qualities as a painter...".
In 1907 he left for Paris. He probably visited the retrospective of Cézanne held on the occasion of the fifth Salon d'Automne; shortly after the event he painted a still life in homage to the Master of Aix; in many works of that period the understanding of the Cézannian lesson is evident.
He lived a rather modest life in "La Ruche", suffering from hunger until his father, resigned, accepted his vocation and brought him home.
In 1908, together with his friends painters and writers, he founded, following the example of the group of "Les XX" in Brussels, the group "XXX", which later became the "Societé Normande de Peinture Moderne", to which Joseph Delattre, Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp adhered. The first exhibition is held at the Galerie Legrip. From Paris Utrillo, de Vlaminck, Guillaumin and Luce send their paintings to the Society’s exhibitions.
From 1908 he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne. Dumont often depicted the cathedral of Rouen, which became one of the most recurring themes in his work.
In 1910 he began collaborating with the newspaper "Rouen Gazette", just founded and open to poets, painters and musicians.
From 1911 he returned to Paris and lived at the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre until 1916. Here he befriended Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Max Jacob and Mac Orlan. The same year, through Guillaume Apollinaire (presented to him by Marcel Duchamp) he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants.
In 1912, momentarily seduced by the "Orphic Cubism" (Apollinaire had borrowed the term from the sixteenth-century treatise of the Bolognese monk Luca Pacioli to indicate the way of painting in concentric circles of the group of Delaunay, Terk, Kupka and Picabia), he exhibited three paintings at "Section d'Or" in Paris, alongside the works of Marcel Duchamp, André Lhote, Francis Picabia. Apollinaire and Reverdy write about him.
The vigour and intensity of its landscapes, especially Parisian, strike the public. Later he moved away from Orphic Cubism to resume his personal way by signing with the pseudonym "Jallot".
In 1912 Dumont invited some friends from Paris to exhibit at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen: Gris, Picabia, Gleizes, Matisse, Braque, Derain; he also asked Apollinaire to give a lecture on Cubism entitled "The sublime modern", on the occasion of the 3. exhibition of the "Societé Normande de Peinture Moderne". Frequent themes of his production are now the corners of La Butte, the hill of Montmartre, the basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Maison Mimi Pinson, the Moulin de la Galette etc.
The first solo show in Paris, organized at the Galerie Malpel in rue Montaigne, was a great success and Dumont began to sell seriously. In 1915 the State bought him a work on the occasion of the exhibition he organized in Paris "For the soldiers, for the artists" and, the following year, the museum of Rouen set up an exhibition.
He began to travel in the Jura and Provence, especially in Marseille. In 1927, when he is now a known and appreciated artist, he had the first of a series of mental crises. Having recovered, he organized the exhibition of the paintings made during the travels of the last years in the prestigious Galerie Durand-Ruel, which met with wide public favor.
Museums:
Winsconsin, Usa, Milwaukee Art Museum
Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Bibliography:
F. Lespinasse, La Normandie vue par les peintres, Losanna, Edita, 1988; La Seine sous ses ponts, de Paris à Honfleur, Honfleur, Association Eugène Boudin, 1995; F. Lespinasse, L’Ecole de Rouen, Rouen, Editions Lecerf, 1995; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996.
At Corneille High School the young Dumont met Marcel Duchamp and Robert Pinchon, and although his decision to devote himself to painting was not well received by his father, he continued to practice. Influenced by the paintings of Van Gogh and Cézanne, he paints landscapes of strong colors, with thick and fat matter, lying on canvas as if sculpting his vision. To tame the decidedly expressionist palette, to which the public of Rouen is not yet accustomed, he entered the Academy of Joseph Delattre.
His first paintings were exhibited in February 1906 at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen; at the age of twenty-two Dumont organized his first solo show. The works presented, depicting landscapes of Normandy (banks of the Seine, scenes of harvesting...), are fully in the artistic tradition of the Ecole de Rouen, distinguishing itself for a very personal technique, obtained with wide touches of pure tones.
The same year he took part in the first event of the "Societé des Artistes Rouennais" and the public indicated him as revolutionary. The critic G. Dubosc writes in the "Journal de Rouen: " ... M.P. Dumont does not yet seek official consecration. An avant-garde temperament, full of boldness and stubbornness [...] in his personal exhibition he had already shown his qualities as a painter...".
In 1907 he left for Paris. He probably visited the retrospective of Cézanne held on the occasion of the fifth Salon d'Automne; shortly after the event he painted a still life in homage to the Master of Aix; in many works of that period the understanding of the Cézannian lesson is evident.
He lived a rather modest life in "La Ruche", suffering from hunger until his father, resigned, accepted his vocation and brought him home.
In 1908, together with his friends painters and writers, he founded, following the example of the group of "Les XX" in Brussels, the group "XXX", which later became the "Societé Normande de Peinture Moderne", to which Joseph Delattre, Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp adhered. The first exhibition is held at the Galerie Legrip. From Paris Utrillo, de Vlaminck, Guillaumin and Luce send their paintings to the Society’s exhibitions.
From 1908 he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne. Dumont often depicted the cathedral of Rouen, which became one of the most recurring themes in his work.
In 1910 he began collaborating with the newspaper "Rouen Gazette", just founded and open to poets, painters and musicians.
From 1911 he returned to Paris and lived at the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre until 1916. Here he befriended Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Max Jacob and Mac Orlan. The same year, through Guillaume Apollinaire (presented to him by Marcel Duchamp) he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants.
In 1912, momentarily seduced by the "Orphic Cubism" (Apollinaire had borrowed the term from the sixteenth-century treatise of the Bolognese monk Luca Pacioli to indicate the way of painting in concentric circles of the group of Delaunay, Terk, Kupka and Picabia), he exhibited three paintings at "Section d'Or" in Paris, alongside the works of Marcel Duchamp, André Lhote, Francis Picabia. Apollinaire and Reverdy write about him.
The vigour and intensity of its landscapes, especially Parisian, strike the public. Later he moved away from Orphic Cubism to resume his personal way by signing with the pseudonym "Jallot".
In 1912 Dumont invited some friends from Paris to exhibit at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen: Gris, Picabia, Gleizes, Matisse, Braque, Derain; he also asked Apollinaire to give a lecture on Cubism entitled "The sublime modern", on the occasion of the 3. exhibition of the "Societé Normande de Peinture Moderne". Frequent themes of his production are now the corners of La Butte, the hill of Montmartre, the basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Maison Mimi Pinson, the Moulin de la Galette etc.
The first solo show in Paris, organized at the Galerie Malpel in rue Montaigne, was a great success and Dumont began to sell seriously. In 1915 the State bought him a work on the occasion of the exhibition he organized in Paris "For the soldiers, for the artists" and, the following year, the museum of Rouen set up an exhibition.
He began to travel in the Jura and Provence, especially in Marseille. In 1927, when he is now a known and appreciated artist, he had the first of a series of mental crises. Having recovered, he organized the exhibition of the paintings made during the travels of the last years in the prestigious Galerie Durand-Ruel, which met with wide public favor.
Museums:
Winsconsin, Usa, Milwaukee Art Museum
Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Bibliography:
F. Lespinasse, La Normandie vue par les peintres, Losanna, Edita, 1988; La Seine sous ses ponts, de Paris à Honfleur, Honfleur, Association Eugène Boudin, 1995; F. Lespinasse, L’Ecole de Rouen, Rouen, Editions Lecerf, 1995; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996.
