LONDON.- Opera Gallery is presenting André Brasilier, a selection of André Brasilier’s most iconic paintings from the past sixty years. Aged 89 the French artist is one of the worlds’ most acclaimed living fauvist painters. Celebrated for his palette of vivid primary colours, and his iconic paintings of horses, in his lifetime Brasilier has been the subject of over 100 solo exhibitions across 20 countries. Brasilier has been the recipient of several awards including the 1952 Prix Florence Blumenthal and the 1953 Prix de Rome.

Along with Picasso, Brasilier is the only artist to have been the subject of a retrospective at Russia’s Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum during his lifetime, in 2005. A second retrospective followed in 2007, at the Museum Haus Ludwig für Kunstausstellungen Saarlouis in Germany.

Brasilier’s output to-date has been diverse, comprising tapestry, stage decoration and book illustration, as well as ceramics. The latter are particularly well-regarded; like Picasso, Brasilier spent time working in Vallauris in the south of France and has exhibited alongside Picasso, Braque, Chagall and Miro.

It is as a painter, however, that he has achieved greatest recognition, returning to distinct subjects that have come to define his career. His paintings are inspired by the work of the Fauves and Gauguin, who he describes as his “père spiritual”, and whose influence can be seen in the bright palette of vivid blues, pinks, oranges and yellows used in his work.

Horses are one of Brasilier’s most used motifs, racing through his landscapes with riders, or as wild herds. As a muse horses are second only to his wife, Chantal, who inspires all of his nudes, and who he describes ‘as a constant source of inspiration’ and who he lives with at his studio in the Château de Loupeigne in Picardy, France.

In 2017 André Brasilier was ranked 424 in Artprice’s TOP 500 ARTISTS list for auction turn over, with a total turnover of $3,487,560. Previously the total value of Andre Brasilier works at auction had grown in value by 557% from $389,213 in 2012 to $2,558,862 in 2016. In 2017 in Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, held in London on 28 June 2017, Le grand ravage, 1961, sold for £60,000 ($77,511) against an estimate of £40,000-60,000 ($51,684-77,511). In the same sale, Sous-bois doré, 2015, sold for £137,000 ($176,955) against an estimate of £50,000-70,000 ($64,588-90,423).

André Brasilier was born into an artistic family in Saumur, France in 1929. His father, Jacques Brasilier, was closely affiliated with the Symbolist movement, joining the atelier of Mucha while his mother, Alice Chaumont, graduated from the Royal College of Art in London.

Brasilier demonstrated a natural inclination towards painting at an early age, and when he turned twenty years old, he moved to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. In 1952 he received a grant from the Florence Blumenthal Foundation, and the following year at the age of 23 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome. This award opened the doors of the Académie de France à Rome to him. His first solo exhibition of paintings, focusing on the musical themes that often appear in his works, was held at the Galerie Drouet in 1959. He was a frequent participant at gallery exhibitions in Paris throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Over the years Brasilier has featured in numerous exhibitions all over the world including France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Russia, the Netherlands, Korea and Hong Kong - over one hundred solo exhibitions in twenty different countries. His travels have inspired several series of paintings, as well as ceramics, mosaics, theatrical plays and book illustrations that have accentuated his illustrious career.

He had his first retrospective of one hundred artworks from 1950 - 1980 at the Château de Chenonceau in 1980 and a retrospective exhibition at the Musée Picasso - Château Grimaldi in Antibes, on the French Riviera in 1988. He has since been honoured with major retrospectives both at the renowned State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg in Russia in 2005, and at the Museum Haus Ludwig für Kunstausstellungen Saarlouis in Germany in 2007.