Henri Le Fauconnier

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Le Fauconnier, Henri (1881–1946). French painter, mainly of figure subjects, including nudes and allegories. He was born at Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, the son of a doctor, and in 1900 he began studying law at the University of Paris. However, he soon gave this up for art and had his main training at the Académie Julian. From about 1910 he was influenced by Cubism and he took part in the first organized group show of Cubist artists, at the Salon des Indépendants in 1911. In about 1914 his style began to become more Expressionist, but he still retained structural features derived from Cubism. He spent the First World War in the Netherlands, where he laid the basis of a European reputation and exercised considerable influence on the development of Expressionism in the country (his work is better represented in Dutch collections than it is in French). After returning to Paris in 1920 he gradually abandoned Expressionism for a more restrained style. He never again enjoyed his former level of fame and in his final years he became a recluse. He is not now generally highly regarded as a painter, but he played an important role in spreading the mannerisms of Cubism. An example of the wide exposure his work had is that his painting Abundance (Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, 1911) was reproduced in the Blaue Reiter Almanac in 1912 and in the same year was shown in the Knave of Diamonds exhibition in Moscow (in 1911 it had been shown at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris).

Le Fauconnier, Henri (b Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, July 1881; d Paris, Jan. 1946). French painter, mainly of figure subjects, including nudes and allegories. From about 1910 he was influenced by Cubism, but in about 1914 he moved to a more Expressionist style, although he still retained structural features derived from Cubism. He spent the First World War in the Netherlands, where he laid the basis of a European reputation and exercised considerable influence on the development of northern Expressionism (his work is better represented in Dutch collections than it is in French). After his return to Paris in 1920 he gradually abandoned his Expressionist manner for a more restrained and austere style. He is not now generally highly regarded as a painter, but he played an important role in spreading the mannerisms of Cubism.

Le Fauconnier, Henri (1881–1946). French painter, mainly of figure subjects, including nudes and allegories. From about 1910 he was influenced by Cubism, but in about 1914 he moved to a more Expressionist style, although he still retained structural features derived from Cubism. He spent the First World War in the Netherlands, where he laid the basis of a European reputation and exercised considerable influence on the development of northern Expressionism (his work is better represented in Dutch collections than it is in French). After his return to Paris in 1920 he gradually abandoned his Expressionist manner for a more restrained and austere style. He is not now generally highly regarded as a painter, but he played an important role in spreading the mannerisms of Cubism.