Archiguille

Life and work

Archiguille was born in Alès. He spent his childhood in Vendargues in the south of France during World War II under German occupation. Drawn to painting as a means of expression, he began when at school to be fascinated with the letters of the alphabet, which led in turn to forays into the oriental art of calligraphy. 1946-48 he attended the Arts and Crafts Educational Centre, Saint Jodard, Loire. In 1952 he arrived in Paris and worked at the Stamp Atelier. In 1956 he met Georges Braque. In 1957 he had his first sales with Lyrical abstraction work (a synthesis of cubism and fauvism). In 1958 he attended a course by Professor Lemagny, (Prize of Rome for painting), Fine Arts Academy.

Archiguille's first exhibition took place in 1953 at "La Librairie de l'Institut" in Paris. It showcased his passion for calligraphy with drawings of letters and spots of colors on cardboards. It was not well received at the time and turned out to be unsuccessful.

His meeting with Georges Braque in 1956 who advised him to further develop his painting skills and master a wider range of techniques was pivotal for his career's evolution. Without having a thorough grasp of figurative painting, said Braque: "you will never fully learn how to feel your art from deep within". Upon taking his advice, François Guille who was not yet called Archiguille met with Professor Lemagny (Fine Arts Academy) and refined his painting techniques under his tutelage for about two years learning to perfect his craft giving emphasis on drawings of nature and landscapes in the figurative style.

Archiguille's first canvases were much influenced by his friend Maurice Utrillo. In 1965, he held his second exposition at the "Bernheim-Jeune" gallery in Paris and a first success for Archiguille. His "Transfiguration" technique and avant-garde style was the theme of the art show. In 1969, he held an exhibition at the "Palais de la Radio" with the participation of Hans Hartung who was his teacher until 1968. Archiguille also admired the sensitivity with which Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Vermeer rendered effects of light. He was much influenced by Hartung and Braque who compelled him to figurative painting in order to develop a deeper inner grasp of his art.

« Antiquity, Renaissance, Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism… Archiguille has seen it all, has tried it all, has learned from it all. From each school, he's caught the savoir-faire and the spirit. It is from this amazing pictorial culture that he has drawn the essence of his work. It is from that universal history that was issued an entirely personal creation which he termed: "Transfiguration".» In the year 1958-1967 Archiguille founded the school of Transfiguration in Chicago named after the transfigurative movement he started in the mid-1960s. "Archiguille belongs to the celebrated creators of the 1950s who in that troubled time showed their bright expressive works characterized by new composition and plastic innovations. The use of "transfigurations" made it possible for Archiguille to find his place in fine arts."

« From Jean Cocteau to Françoise Sagan, to Henri Michaux to Jack Lang, artists, writers, poets have acknowledged Archiguille's fine art. In 1968, André Malraux announced him as "the most gifted painter of his generation". His art works can be found in collections of François Mitterrand, Mme Claude Pompidou, Jacqueline Kennedy, Coco Chanel, Ari Onassis, Barbara Bush, the Emperor of Japan, Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Spain's king Juan Carlos, David Rockefeller and Barbra Streisand just to name a few.» His paintings grace some of the most prestigious museums of contemporary art in the world: Paris, New York, Chicago, Houston and Tokyo as well as the Bernheim Jeune-Gallery in Paris, Princeton University, Club 13 and the Parisian Tuileries. "The dynamic personality of François Archiguille has been well documented by Françoise Sagan" (1935–2004, French premier writer and intellectual).

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