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Georges Gimel (March 8, 1898 – January 21, 1962), was aFrenchexpressionist painter of portraits, landscapes, mountain landscapes, still lifes and flowers. He was also a wood carver, lithographer, illustrator, set designer, sculptor, and enamel painter.
Gimel was born atDomène (Isère),France. He lived at Domène and atGrenoble, where he studied at the École des Arts Industriels, until the age of 16 at which time he moved toParis. Gimel stayed in Paris for 20 years; thereafter he split his time between Megève,Annecy, Grenoble and Paris. He took part in both theFirst World War and theSecond World War.
In 1916 he studied at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts of Paris, at the Studio ofJean-Paul Laurens and at theÉcole des Arts Décoratifs. After the war in 1919 he returned at the École des Beaux Arts, at the Studio ofJean-Antoine Injalbert. At the same time, he became a pupil of theAcadémie Julian[1] and also worked together with the sculptorHenri Bouchard, a friend from the war.
Gimel was the artistic director of the literary reviewTentatives with Henri Petiot (Daniel Rops) for a special edition dedicated toStendhal. He created numerous wood carvings, including a portrait ofDéodat de Séverac that was owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris.
He took part in theSalon d'Automne and theSalon des Indépendants from 1921 until 1934. Gimel created the largest painting of the Salon d’Automne in 1927, entitledLa cueillette des amandes.
His talent was noticed very early on byAndry-Farcy, curator of theMuseum of Grenoble, who supported the “Peintres Modernes”, and by the art criticFélix Fénéon.
Gimel's lithographs sought after by collectors are composed of up to 14 colors. He also worked on various works of portraiture as painting: winter landscapes, bathers, sports figures, flowers and marines. An artistic dynamo, he linked the schools of beaux arts and commercial/artistic design by creating fabric designs for clothing designersPaul Poiret andJean Patou.
In Paris, he gained worldwide recognition through numerous exhibitions at art galleries including: GalerieBernheim-Jeune, Galerie Bignou, Galerie Kleinmann, Galerie Berri-Raspail, Galerie Charpentier, and GalerieKatia Granoff.
In 1930, Gimel began to create immense frescoes such as the one at the principal office of theSociété des Chaux et Ciment Lafarge a Paris. In 1931, he marriedMadeleine Louise Jeannest at the Vésinet near Paris.
In 1933, Gimel created a Station of the Cross which was controversial because of its modernism. In January 1934, his religious frescoes were exhibited at the Galerie Jean Charpentier, together with the lithographs for the Station of the Cross with an introduction byLéon Daudet in the EditionsJeanne Bucher. One of these works was later acquired by the Vatican and another by the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris. Gimel's work belongs to the school of religious art led byGeorge Desvallières andMaurice Denis.
When architect Henry Jacques Le Même designed hischalet "La Fresque" at Megève, Gimel decorated the façades with avant-garde frescoes.
In 1937, Gimel took part in theExposition Universelle de Paris, and there he created the interior design for the Pavillon du Dauphiné.
At the end of World War II in 1944, Gimel published a book of pen and ink drawings of war scenes, entitledLe Calvaire de la Résistance. Some of the drawings had been exhibited at the Galerie Katia Granoff in Paris in April 1940.
Following this, he devoted himself to his art and to the making of his enamels where his genius allowed him to combine technical and practical aspects to create an indestructible form of enamel painting. In 1949, he exhibited 91 enamel works at the Art Gallery Bernheim Jeune in Paris. Later, thanks to the Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, several of his enamels were sent abroad toRome (Italy) andSaarbrücken (Germany), while others were part of a traveling exhibition in the United States that started at theYale University Art Gallery in 1954.
In 1956, Gimel created his Stations of the Cross in enamel for the church Jean-Baptiste at Megève. He was also asked by the Rotary-club des Alpes de Haute-Provence for a major conference on the subject of enamels, assisted by his friendJean Giono.
On January 21, 1962, a sunny Sunday, Gimel died suddenly while ice skating with a young woman at the skating rink atMegève (Haute-Savoie).
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