BIOGRAPHY
Edouard Collin’s Career
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Edouard Collin was born in Meudon (located 8 km away from Paris) on December 11, 1906.
He did not come from a family of artists, his father was a civil servant and his mother unemployed. Collin grew up close to the aerodrome of Villacoublay where, as a child, he witnessed the beginnings of aviation in wonderment.
He devoted himself completely to the study of the arts from a very young age. Collin went on to study at the prestigious Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts (National School of Fine Arts) in Paris, where he worked in the studio of Maurice Denis. Meanwhile, he passed the “Education Nationale” exams so as to be able to teach. At 21, he came in first in the exam to teach at a high school level, and a year later, came in first in the exam to teach in college.
At the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts, after having obtained more than a dozen silver, gold and 1st prize medals, he received the Grand Prix de Rome at the age of 26 (1932). It is the most highly coveted award given by the Beaux Arts.
Edouard Collin rigorously devoted himself to a moderate and healthy lifestyle: no smoking, no drinking and a healthy diet.
During the prewar era, Collin designed many posters for Renault, La Croix Rouge (which you can often find in collections of vintage posters). He also designed theater sets. He then went on to teach for two years (1936-1937), which he soon ended because of his fundamental disagreement with the methods and goals of traditional teaching.
In 1937, Collin marries Simone Thiery, a school mate from the Beaux Arts, and the daughter of renown surgeon Professor Paul Thiery. The couple have a daughter in 1938, and a son in 1941, and the family had to relocate at the beginning of Word War II. Collin, meanwhile, painted the Convent of Vic s / Seille. After the war, from 1945 to 1949, Collin moved to Antibes for health reasons, favoring a “wholesome” way of life over traditional medicine.
Collin painted the “fresco” of the Chapelle de La Garoupe (18th century church), dedicated to Notre Dame de Bon Port (dear to fishermen and soldiers), which overlooks the Cap d’Antibes as well as the harbors of Cannes and Nice. During this time period, he drew and painted numerous portraits and sketches of fishermen, as well as of all the jazz legends who performed at the Juan Les Pins Jazz Festival. The Nice Matin archives have many of these sketches (ranging form Sydney Bechet to Lionel Hampton, etc.….).
Collin finally moved back to Paris in 1950, but made trips to Antibes every year. He became artistic director for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (the leading french cruise liner company at the time). He designed many posters for the company, that can often be found in various vintage poster collections. Two of his posters, created for the ships “Liberté” and “Colombie”, are featured in the following books: “La Mer s'Affiche” (by D. Hillion / Ed Ouest-France) and “Le Voyage s'Affiche (by Olivier Frébourg / Ed. Fitway).
Collin also designed menus for all the cruise ships of the company, as well as for hotels managed by the company in North Africa. He designed wall decorations for the "Ville de Tunis" and "France" cruise liners.
In 1959 he resumed teaching in high school, promoting his idea that painting and drawing are only essential in primary school because children like to play with lines, shapes and colors (which is the very essence of pictorial art). In high school however, he felt it important to promote an understanding of art history and culture, for most students would not become artists but might, however, maintain a general interest in the arts.
Edouard Collin received the “Palmes Académiques” in 1966.
Collin devoted his life to both painting and teaching, and would only become known in smaller circles, staying largely unknown to the general public. His skills and virtuosity are best seen in his work as a portrait painter.
He died at the age of 77 in Antibes, on August 4, 1983.
About Edouard Collin’s work
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Edouard Collin’s work is deliberately figurative. The playful stories depicted in his paintings might often distract the viewer from a deeper aesthetic analysis of his work. One must get past the subject of the painting to observe the overall the construction of the painting, as well as the complexity and abundance of lines, colors and shapes created by each brushstroke. This is why you will find some zoomed in details for a few paintings on this site. You can uncover the astonishing creativity captured in one “simple”, yet immensely expressive, brushstroke. Edouard Collin liked to quote Poussin: "from the hand of the painter must not emerge any line which has not previously been formed in his mind". Collin denies "chance-makers" (in his own words), and so-called artists who frantically and randomly throw colors on a canvas. According to him, that was show business, not art.
By contrast, a truly serious and constructed abstract painting unfortunately often alienates the general public who have not benefited from aesthetic education. You have to educate the eye to see past the anecdote, the landscape, the characters. Only then can one see the complex interplay of lines, shapes and colors, and the overall construction of a painting. The study of anatomy and the representation of the human body or animals is paramount when studying at the Beaux Arts. This ground knowledge is essential in being able to more figuratively paint a hand or a silhouette with just a couple of brushstrokes.
Edouard Collin thrives to remain fundamentally figurative, all the while embracing the classic rules of aesthetics. He adheres to the art of representing a subject, and uses the impact of personal aesthetics to create emotions.
The characteristics of Edouard Collin?
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Collin didn’t take himself seriously, and one can find humor everywhere in his work. A large part of his oeuvre is narrative. From the 70s, his paintings evoke nostalgia for the Belle Epoque and his childhood. His painting "Retrovolas" may be the seed of this trend: we time travel to a life where things seemed easier, more elegant, more kind and light-hearted.
Edouard Collin was an exceptional portrait painter (we appeal to the owners of his works to include them on this site).
His drawings and sketches are also remarkable: a few strokes could give life to an elegant silhouette. His paintings often started with many drawings and sketches, some of which have been included on this website.