Claude Gaveau, 1940 | Abstract painter

Claude Gaveau was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Gaveau was almost born into art, as his grandfather was the creator of the green houses of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.One of his uncles, Emile, was a painter and another, Marcel a cabinetmaker.

At the age of five he remembers the morning when Uncle Marcel put an easel, a canvas and a box of colors in his hands and together they both painted the landscape around geysers.

Claude Gaveau seems to talk about birth date as it was from that day on, when painting became a necessity for him.

He thus he entered the School of Applied arts in Paris where he studied for five years specializing in mural art: stained glass, tapestry, mosaic and fresco.

The following six years included attending the National Superior School of Les Beaux Arts in Paris. To this multimedia experience Gaveau will owe the independence of his style.

While he recognizes the influence of the great masters Cezanne, Braque and Duffy, Gaveau is also inspired by music and lyricism which is always present in the best of French painting from Poussin to Fernand Leger.

Gaveau’s talent was soon recognized and in 1963 he received hi first award and scholarship from the Antwerp Academy, which enables him to study the Flemish painting in Brussels.

In 1965, hardly 25 years old, Gaveau had his first individual exhibition at the Angle Aigu Gallery in Paris.

But the real starting point of his career dates from 1968 when Gaveau was nominated for the Critics Prize sponsored by the Saint Placide Gallery in Paris.

Gaveau held his first individual Parisian exhibition in 1971 at La Belle Gabrielle Gallery. At the end of the 1970’s Gaveau talent was discovered in America.

His travels have led his artistic transformations and broadened his palette incorporating the shadows of the white walls of Moroccan villages, the warm light of Venice, and the architecture and décor of California into his artwork.

Claude Gaveau is an internationally acclaimed master celebrated for his nudes and still life compositions.

His works are harmonious with a brilliant palette of vibrant colors that seem to be overlaid with silk giving a soft and subtle result. Gaveau’s art has been described by many critics and fellow artists as “Symphonic” orchestrating the elements to create perfectly balanced compositions that are withdrawn from reality yet not quite abstract offering a sense of mystery rather than a clear definition.

His works capture the beauty and innocence of flowers and the female form he paints with his brush. Gaveau has created a style all his own that is immediately identifiable and enjoyable.

Claude Gaveau è nato a Neuilly - sur - Seine. Per cinque anni ha frequentato l'Ecole des Arts Appliques a Parigi, dove ha imparato le discipline del murale ed affresco, arazzo progettazione e realizzazione vetrate.

Poi studiò per sei anni presso l'Ecole Superieure des Beaux- Arts di Parigi, diventando altrettanto abile nella pittura ad olio, acquerello, disegno e litografia.

Durante il suo corso di studi ha vinto il primo premio assegnato dalla Accademia di Anversa.

Una borsa di studio per studiare pittura fiamminga lo ha portato in Belgio per quattro mesi e ha portato al suo primo one-man show, che si è tenuta a Bruxelles nel 1965.

L'arte di Gaveau è stato descritta da molti critici e colleghi artisti come "symphonic" per la sua maestria nell'orchestrare gli elementi per creare composizioni perfettamente bilanciate.

Le sue opere catturano la bellezza e l'innocenza dei fiori e la forma femminile. Gaveau ha creato uno stile tutto suo immediatamente identificabile e divertente.