MANTE Maurice (20th century), "Voiliers 110". Oil on canvas signed lower left and dated 1989. 92 x 65 cm. MANTE Maurice (1923-1999) An artist from Limoges with a passion for drawing from an early age, he practiced his art alongside his professional activities. For a time, he was employed by the SNCF, then worked until his retirement as a window dresser at Nouvelles Galeries. He enrolled in evening classes at the Arts Décoratifs de Limoges, where he met Jean Virolle, his teacher, whom he considered his "spiritual father" and whose advice he never ceased to seek and follow. In the early sixties, Maurice MANTE tried his hand at cubism, then quickly turned to abstract art, which was to become his chosen field. He was a member of the "Group of 9" in Montluçon, alongside Alain BISSON, who would say of him [...] Man was inside the artist, going round in circles with him on the surface of the paintings [...] engraving the material like the prehistoric on the wall of the cave. Maurice MANTE was not interested in fame. However, he exhibited several times in galleries in Limoges, often out of friendship with the gallery owners, notably at Simone NATHAN-ASHER's 39 A gallery. "I was impressed by the breadth of his work, its strength, its quality, its homogeneity in diversity".