Max Papart

Studied at Fine Arts School, Marseilles, under printer Etienne Mein, ultimately setting up a studio in Paris in 1936 where he continued studies at the Ecole du Louvre as an unregistered student. That year, he exhibited paintings at the Salon des Indépendants, and began making his first aquatint prints. 1940s, moves to Marseilles, where he has first one-man exhibition in 1946, and wins First Award in painting of the Union Méditerranéenne pour l’Art Moderne. Continued successes throughout his career, taking part in more than 300 museum and gallery exhibitions.

His work shows numerous influences, from old to new masters that include Cranach, Delacroix, Matisse, and Klee. His cubist works depict couples, circus scenes, couples and often cheerful subjects, which emphasize flat colors and overlapping textures. On Papart, art critic André Parinaud stated, "We are going to rediscover Papart as one of the masters of the second cubist generation, born from color and from the geometric demand of the composition...His radiating warmth will be much appreciated."

Roger Green, Max Papart (New York: Rizzoli, 1984)