BIOGRAPHICAL MILESTONES
EVENING IN NANTUA
2007
76.77 x 44.88 in
Mixed media on canvas
Rachel Guy GRATALOUP was born in Nantua in 1935. From a very early age, he displayed an exceptional talent for drawing. The natural world surrounding him would become a constant source of inspiration throughout his life.
A gifted student, he was forced to leave school at the age of 17 following the death of his father and begin working. While taking on a succession of temporary jobs, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, where he attended evening classes. He rented a former grocery store, “L’Économique,” which he transformed into his studio.
After completing two years of military service in Germany, he resumed his studies and entered the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan. He remained there until 1992, holding various teaching and research positions before becoming Director of Studies and founding the Centre for Research in Art and Industrial Creation.
In 1963, he entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Awarded a scholarship by the Institut de France in 1966, he joined the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid for the 1966–1967 academic year. His work during this period was profoundly influenced by the Spanish landscape and the striking chromatic contrasts of Spain’s light.
In June 1967, GRATALOUP was awarded the Second Grand Prix de Rome for Painting for The Revolt of the Dark Forces. Returning to Paris, he continued his research at the Cité internationale des Arts before moving, in 1969, to 37 rue Henri-Barbusse, which would become his legendary studio.
In 1970, at the Villa Medici in Rome, then directed by the painter Balthus, a decisive development took place. With the Palm Trees of the Villa Medici series, GRATALOUP perfected the technique that would become emblematic of his work: the matrix and frottage process, combined with mounting paper onto canvas. This invention paved the way for the development of his major series.
A PALM TREE AT THE VILLA MEDICI
1970
63.78 x 51.18 in
Mixed media on canvas
PARIS LA DÉFENSE
GALILEE TOWER
A tireless artist who continued working until the day before his death on January 16, 2022, GRATALOUP left behind a considerable body of work comprising several thousand creations developed across numerous series.
A distinctive artist whose work defies easy classification, GRATALOUP belonged to the generation of pioneers who, from the 1960s and 1970s onwards, contributed to the renewal of contemporary art through their exploration of new techniques, materials and forms of expression.
The inventor of his own creative process based on matrices and frottages, GRATALOUP was both a painter and a multidisciplinary visual artist. His work extended far beyond the traditional canvas to encompass tapestry, mosaic, stained glass, objects and public space.
His profoundly symbolic universe also connects his work to the great Symbolist tradition, in the lineage of Puvis de Chavannes, Gauguin, Munch and Klimt, whose work he greatly admired
THE GRATALOUP STUDIO
In 1986, GRATALOUP installed his studio-home in Chevreuse, on plans drawn by his architect friend, Denis Sloan, member of the Academy of Architecture. The construction, strictly oriented to the cardinal points, is designed with a Cistercian rigor. Its layout is perfectly symmetrical in relation to a hall located in the east-west axis, from which the various volumes are organized. The large full height workshop reigns on the north side. Apartments are arranged on the south side.
For the artist this house is a kind of metaphorical transposition of certain themes used in his work. Through the many glazed openings, we can find the rays of light so present in his work : the «V», for example, symbols of a rediscovered light.
In 2020, the house was classified in the General Inventory of the Cultural Heritage of Ile de France (link).
Photos © Laurent Kruszyk
GRATALOUP Art Space – Nantua
A LIFETIME WITH PAINTING
In 2017, Grataloup Couleur Lumière was published, a 300-page book conceived in two voices by GRATALOUP and his wife, Milena, tracing the painter’s life, artistic journey and work.
Shaped by their complementary perspectives, the book gives a central place to GRATALOUP’s own words: his voice, his thoughts and his reflections on his work run throughout the narrative, alongside those of Milena, who by then had shared his life for nearly thirty years.
Drawing on this book, Milena created a series of short videos, narrated and commented on in her own voice, offering an episode-by-episode journey through GRATALOUP’s life and work.
Grataloup Couleur Lumière is available from the GRATALOUP Museum shop and from the online store.
Watch all the episodes in video format
Grataloup Couleur Lumière en videos
EPISODE 1 - LES ORIGINES FAMILIALES - 1898/1934 - GRATALOUP COULEUR LUMIÈRE
EPISODE 2 - NANTUA - 1935/1940 - GRATALOUP COULEUR LUMIÈRE
