Paul-Émile Bécat

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Paul-Émile Bécat (born February 2, 1885 in Paris ; † January 1, 1960 there ) was a French painter , draftsman and etcher . Today he is less known for his oil paintings, but primarily as an illustrator of erotic works by well-known poets and novelists .

Life

Bécat studied at the École des Beaux-Arts with Gabriel Ferrier (1847-1914) and François Flameng and exhibited in 1913 in the Salon des artistes français . In 1932 he traveled to the Congo and in 1934 to Gabon , the Ivory Coast , Senegal and Sudan .

Paul-Emile Bécat died in Paris in 1960 at the age of 74.

He was married to Marie Monnier, sister of the bookseller and publisher Adrienne Monnier (1892–1955). The latter stood together with Sylvia Beach (1887–1962) in the center of the literary scene in Paris at the time.

Awards

  • 1920: Prix de Rome
  • Silver medal from the Salon des artistes français

plant

Paul-Émile Bécat initially made a name for himself through his now little-known oil portraits of French writers. After his return from Africa he created gouaches and from 1933 turned to drypoint technology . He was one of the most prolific book illustrators in France until the 1950s. His works for around 100 books by well-known authors are mostly - but not exclusively - piquant, highly erotic subjects.

Portraits

  • Portrait of André Gide , charcoal drawing
  • Portrait of Sylvia Beach, oil on canvas

Book illustrations (selection)

  • 1934: Théophile Gautier : Le Capitaine Fracasse , Georges Briffaut, Paris, drypoint etchings
  • 1936: Benjamin Constant , Edmond Pilon (preface): Adolphe , Edition d'art H. Piaza, Paris
  • 1937: Pierre Louÿs : Aphrodite. Moeurs antiques , Edition d'art H. Piazza, Paris, 21 color plates
  • 1937: Denis Diderot : Les Bijoux indiscrets (German The chatty gems ), Le Vasseur, 1939 Paris
  • 1941: Abbé Prévost : Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut , Le Vasseur et Cie, Paris, 20 etchings
  • 1942: Ovid , trans. by Héguin de Guerle: L'art d'aimer (German: Liebeskunst ), La Tradition, 24 drypoint etchings
  • 1944: Pietro Aretino : Ragionamenti , La Nef d'Argent, Paris
  • 1945: Pierre Louÿs: La femme et le pantin , Le Vasseur et Cie, Paris, 20 colored eaux-fortes
  • 1946: Théophile Gautier: Fortunio , Georges Briffaut, 1946 Paris, drypoint etchings
  • 1947: Denis Diderot: La Religieuse , Pierre Larrive, Paris
  • 1947: Paul Géraldy : Toi et Moi , Les Heures Claires, Paris, 33 drypoint etchings
  • 1948: Pierre de Brantôme : La Vie des dames galantes , 2 volumes, Athéna, Paris
  • 1949: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos : Les Liaisons dangereuses (German: dangerous love affairs ), 2 volumes, Athéna, Paris
  • 1949: Alexis Piron : Oeuvres badines , Georges Briffaut, Paris
  • 1950: Voltaire : Candide ou l'optimisme (German: Candide or der Optimismus ), Editions Arc-en-Ciel, Paris, 12 illustrations
  • 1950: Pierre de Ronsard : Les Amours , Les Heures Claires, 1950, drypoint etchings
  • 1951: René Boylesve : La Leçon d'amour dans un parc. Les Nouvelles leçons d'amour dans un parc , 2 volumes, Les Heures Claires, 1951 and 1952, Paris
  • 1951: Voltaire: Le Blanc et le Noir , Editions Arc-en-Ciel, Paris
  • 1952: Marivaux : Oeuvres illustrées. (La surprise de l'amour. La double inconstance. Les serments indscrets. Les fausses confidences. Arlequin poli par l'amour. La vie de Marianne.) , Editions Arc-en-Ciel, Paris
  • 1953: Paul Verlaine : Fêtes galantess , Le Livre de Qualité, Paris, 57 compositions
  • 1954: Montesquieu : Le temple de Gnide , Eryx, Paris, 11 drypoint etchings
  • 1955: Jean de La Fontaine : Les Amours de Psyché et Cupidon , Les Heures Claires, Paris, drypoint etchings
  • 1957: Victor Margueritte : La Garçonne , Paris
  • 1957: Roger Pillet : Les Oraisons amoureuses de Jeanne Aurélie Grivolin Lyonnaise , Les Heures Claires, Paris
  • 1958: René Boylesve: Les Bains de Bade , Editions du Baniyan, Paris, drypoint etchings

Others

Bécat also created the sheets of the Le Florentin card game published by Le Jarres d'Or in Paris .

literature

  • Léopold Carteret: Le trésor du bibliophile . Paris 1948.
  • Pascal Pia : Les livres de l'enfer. Bibliography critique (…) . C. Coulet et A. Faure, Paris 1978, ISBN 2-213-60189-5 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bécat, Paul-Émile
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French painter, draftsman and etcher
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1960
Place of death Paris