Jacques Martin-Ferrieres (1893-1972) European
Birthplace/Origin: French
Biography/Statement:
A painter remarkable for his highly personal portraits and landscape views, Jacques Martin-Ferrières was the son of the great Post-Impressionist painter Henri Martin (1860-1943). He studied with his father and with the French academic painter Frederic Cormon. Like his father, Martin-Ferrières became a master at reproducing the scintillating effects of light on canvas. Despite his father’s strong influence, though, Jac developed a technique that was uniquely his own; paint is applied in swift and short brushstrokes of opaque color, at times overlapping and at times separated, revealing a pale ground layer and producing a mosaic-like surface.
Martin-Ferrières was awarded many national prizes, including an honorable mention at the Salon of 1920, a silver medal in 1923, the National Prize in 1925, and a Gold Medal and Legay-Lebrun Prize in 1928. A retrospective of his work in 1965 confirmed his respected status.