Claude Venard

Claude Venard – École de Paris
Full name: Claude Georges Venard

Artistic movement: Post-Cubism, École de Paris
Education: École des Arts Appliqués de Paris

Career: Painter of still lifes, urban and seascape scenes
Artistic career

Claude Venard developed a passion for painting at the age of 17. He enrolled at the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris but left the École des Beaux-Arts after just two days, preferring a more practical and self-taught approach. In 1936, he worked as a restorer at the Louvre Museum, an experience that enriched his technique. In the 1930s, he joined the Forces Nouvelles group—a collective of Parisian painters who rejected Impressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism in favor of more direct figuration.
After World War II, Venard settled in Sanary-sur-Mer, where he dedicated himself fully to painting. He actively participated in Parisian art salons, notably the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon de Mai (which he co-founded in 1944), and exhibited in prestigious galleries in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires.
Major works

Still Lifes: Venard is renowned for his still life compositions, in which he explores form and color with a post-Cubist touch.
Urban and Seascapes: He captures the essence of French landscapes—particularly around Sanary-sur-Mer—with a vibrant palette and geometric structure.
Exhibited works: His pieces are part of major institutions including the Tate Gallery in London, the Whitney Museum in New York, the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Montreal Museum, the Düsseldorf Museum, the São Paulo Museum, the Mexico City Museum, the Palm Springs Museum, the Basel Museum, the Munich Museum, the Tokyo Museum, and the Buenos Aires Museum.
Style and influences

Claude Venard remained faithful to a post-Cubist composition of pictorial space, gradually intensifying the chromatic power of his palette to its rawest tones, always applied with rich and textured material. His style is marked by bold use of color and geometric structuring of forms, influenced by Cubism yet approached in a more expressive and personal manner.
Quote

"Material speaks."