François Aubrun French, 1934-2009

“The act of painting is a solitary one and one should never fear solitude if one wants to paint. Painting is not a job: it is a path that can only be followed in solitude.”

—François Aubrun

Francois Aubrun derived his inspiration form the countryside surrounding his studio however unlike the typical naturalist his imagery manifested itself in a far more nuanced way. Transcending the tangible elements – sky, water, mountains – Aubrun delved into the very essence of nature itself, skirting the external, observable, world embracing its elemental core: light, texture, and emotion.

Aubrun studied at the Section d’Or of the Academy of Paris under the guidance of Jean Souverbie. At fifteen, while traveling with his grandfather, he discovered Aix-en-Provence, eventually studying sculpture there with Paul-Françoise Niclausse. In 1953, he entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, studying painting and later monumental art and lithography until 1961.

In 1956, Aubrun married Martine Bassot, and they had six daughters. His inaugural exhibition occurred in 1957 in Paris, and in 1960, he established residence at Saint-Joseph at Le Tholonet overlooking Mont Sainte-Victoire, where he would dedicate sixty years of ceaseless painting until his passing in 2009. Honored as a citizen of Aix-en-Provence in 2007, he shared his artistic expertise at Luminy, the University of Marseille, and the National School of Decorative Arts of Nice. He served as the Director of the École des Beaux-Arts of Toulon from 1974 to 1980 and as a painting professor at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris until 1992.