Joseph Lacasse (1894-1975)

Refugee period circa 1917-1920 Charcoal on paper 51 x 47 cm Condition report: Framed, dimensions on view Joseph Lacasse, a Belgian painter and sculptor, moved to Paris in 1925, to the rue Mazarine, where he met Maurice Denis and Robert Delaunay. In his own words, "the son of a militant socialist worker, a quarryman and a militant (himself)", he first found success between the wars as a painter of religious themes of a social nature. The year 1934 marked a significant turning point towards abstraction, following a conflict and a lost court case in which the bishopric of Versailles had his frescoes washed out of the Saint Dominique chapel in Juvisy sur Orge. He would not return to success until the 1950s, a prelude to critical recognition and growing fame in the last years of his life. The work presented here is an early addition to the artist's career. It echoes his modest origins and living conditions in the aftermath of the 1st World War. Although figurative, the construction of this drawing shows the beginnings of his abstract forms. "In this innovative movement, Lacasse, who only came to prominence belatedly, was nonetheless an ardent pioneer, and many painters once haunted his studio. I saw Delaunay there..." (Henry Poulaille - Revue Arts n° 35, April 6, 1951)