Lorjou bernard biography of abraham

(French, 1908-1986)

French Expressionist painter Bernard Lorjou was born on September 9, 1908 to a poor family in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France.

The youngest of three children, Lorjou lived in poverty most of his young life. In 1924, he headed to Paris, where he often slept in the Orsay train station. Things turned around in 1925 when he was hired as a textile designer by the silk house Ducharne.

Lorjou bernard biography of abraham

While there, he met his future companion, artist Yvonne Mottet.

With enough money to travel and paint full-time, Lorjou headed to Spain in 1931. He visited the Prado Museum in Madrid where he discovered the richly expressive styles of masters El Greco, Velázquez and Goya.

Inspired, Lorjou began painting his socio-political views, which would manifest an even greater role in his later career.

Lorjou exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants in 1942, followed by his first solo exhibition at Galerie du Bac, Paris, featuring his painting Miracle de Lourd