PAUL CHARAVEL (1877 - 1961)

 
 
A DECORATIVE DESIGN
 
 
Signed l.l.  P. Charavel
Watercolour on paper
18 x 24.2 cm
 
 
PROVENANCE
The artist's studio sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 24 May 1967  [unknown lot number]
Private collection, France
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paul Frédéric Antoine Charavel was born in Marseille and began his artistic studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux in 1896. After this, he became a student of Léon Bonnat and Albert Maignan, at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
 
The colours and light he witnessed on a trip to Spain in 1903 inspired a new direction in his art, and he moved afterwards to a small village near Saint Tropez. Once settled, he became friends with Paul Signac, Matisse and Albert Marquet, who were all close neighbours of his and whose art influenced his considerably during this period. The Southern scenes of swimmers and glittering waters from this time are among Charavel’s best works. 
 
 
In the aftermath of the War, Charavel moved to Saint-Quentin, where he collaborated with his younger brother Jean (also an artist) on various murals and stained glass window designs for churches in the area. Together, the brothers helped to reconstruct buildings which had been destroyed during the War.
 
 
During his career, Charavel exhibited at the Salon (just once, in 1901) and the Winter Salon (after the Second World War). A posthumous sale of his atelier took place at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on the 24th May 1967. Many provincial museums throughout France hold works by Charavel, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Menton, the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse and the Fonds National d’Art Contemporarin in Puteaux.