MARTIN-FERRIÈRES JACQUES (1893-1972)

Jacques Martin-Ferrières, born in St. Paul, France, was the son of the great artist Henri Martin (1860-1943). He studied literature and the sciences; he was a fervent musician and played the piano, organ and cello. For him, music was food and the ideal respite after long hours of work at his easel. In addition to studying with and being profoundly influenced by his father, Martin-Ferrières studied with Fréderic Cormon and Ernest Laurent.

He exhibited regularly at the annual Salon des Artistes Français in Paris, where he became an hors-concours member. He won medals at the salon in 1920 and 1923 and received a travel scholarship in 1924. In addition, Martin-Ferrières was awarded the prestigious Prix National in 1925 for Le Peintre, which was later exhibited at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. His important work, Marche d’Assisi, won him both the Gold Medal at the Paris Salon in 1928 and the Institut Français’ Prix Legay-Lebrun; it was acquired by the City of Paris. In 1937, Martin-Ferrières received a Gold Medal at the Exposition Universelle.

During World War II, Martin-Ferrières joined the Resistance in the Dordogne; he was captured and sentenced to be executed. His life was spared, and by 1950 he was painting and traveling again, most frequently to his beloved Venice. In 1956, Martin-Ferrières was made an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur. Major retrospective exhibitions of the artist’s work were held in Paris in 1939 and 1965.

Martin-Ferrières was an artist whose interest in human beings and life around him became keener with the years. He was a man brimming with life who extracted the artistic essence from everything he experienced. He was a well-rounded artist who produced striking portraits, landscapes, still lifes and monumental mural frescos and decorations. His work is characterized by technical skill, solidity of drawing and superb sensitivity to color. His palette was initially quiet but shifted to warmer colors used with restraint and with an appreciation of their complexity. Whether he painted figures, florals or landscape paintings, all express the same joy of life in the veritable feast of light and color.