George DESVALLIERES (1861-1950). "The Ascension, God the Fat - Lot 263

George DESVALLIERES (1861-1950). "The Ascension, God the Father, sketch", 1926. Pastel and oil on paper mounted on wood (Dim.: 120 x 78 cm) (CR 1827) Provenance: Seine-Port, private collection, 1962 (by descent) "Comment: "This large sketch from the third caisson depicts God the Father on his throne, assisted by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and framed by celestial creatures with, on the right, the archangel paying homage to him. It will be exhibited at Galerie Druet as evidence of the work carried out over a summer, and already mounted in Pawtucket. The colors are lighter than those of the final panel". (Catherine Ambroselli De-Bayser, "Georges Desvallières - Catalogue raisonné de l'Œuvre complet", Ed. Somogy éditions d'art, Paris, 2015, tome III, p474) As a child, Georges Desvallières already demonstrated a talent for drawing. Thanks to his grandfather, the academician Ernest Legouvé, the painter Jules-Elie Delaunay (1828-1891), a friend of the latter, helped to awaken little Georges. The young Desvallières continued his training under Gustave Moreau (1826-1898). Admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1879, he joined Alexandre Cabanel's studio, but only stayed a few months. A close friend of Gustave Moreau, he set up his studio near Moreau's home. He also maintained an epistolary relationship with Moreau's pupil Georges Rouault (1871-1958). From 1883 to 1901, he exhibited at the Salon des artistes français. Born into a non-practising family, he distanced himself from Catholicism, before being encouraged, notably by Huysmans, to return to this spirituality. Against the tide of secularization sweeping civil society at the time, he returned to his Christian faith, painting more and more religious subjects. He takes part in the International Exhibition of Modern Christian Art organized at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris by the Société de Saint-Jean (founded for the development of Christian art), and later becomes its vice-president along with Maurice Denis. He joined the Dominican Third Order and in 1912 published a manifesto in favor of a school of sacred art. During the First World War, Georges Desvallières gave up painting to join the 6th Territorial Battalion of Foot Chasseurs (BTCA). His sons, Richard and Daniel, are both mobilized. Daniel, a student at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, was mowed down by shellfire at the age of 17. During a dangerous mission in enemy territory, Georges Desvallières vows to dedicate his painting to God. When he returned unscathed, he fulfilled this vow, abandoning secular subjects for good. He went so far as to combine the Passion of Christ and the sacrifice of the poilu in "Sacré Coeur dans un éclatement" (Sacred Heart in a Burst) in 1920. When the war ended in 1919, he and Maurice Denis opened the ateliers d'art sacré. This school broke with the organization of the academy and was intended to be a workshop with students, apprentices to the master, as in the Middle Ages, responding to precise commissions. This was the beginning of major decorative projects.