Louis LATAPIE
1891–1972, France
Also known as: Louis Robert Arthur Latapie
Louis Latapie was a French painter, known mostly for his Cubist compositions and still life and nude paintings. Born Louis Robert Arthur Latapie, he showed interest in art as a boy, and luckily for him, his family moved to Paris in 1900.
His earliest training was under Jean-Paul Laurens and enrolled in the Julien Academy in 1911. That same year, Latapie also took courses at the Ranson Academie, where he discovered Cubism under the supervision of Paul Serusier.
World War I put a temporary damper on Latapie's career, when he was stationed in Albi, and later mobilized in 1914. The war took a great toll on Latapie because he was wounded three times and also lost one of his brothers in the war. By 1920, Latapie was able to again devote himself to art and also became a professor at the Ranson Academy. Latapie was finally able to expose his work in 1922, including a number of well-received one-man shows at the Galerie Druet. However, he was set back again when his wife mysteriously disappeared that same year. As a result he moved to Toulon in 1925, and met fellow artist Juan Gris. In 1927, Latapie remarried and moved to Paris, and spent the next few years teaching and living between Toulon and Paris.
During this time, Latapie continued to paint in a Cubist style. He served in the war again briefly during World War II in 1939, and in the mid 1940s he bought a workshop in Seine-Port. During this time, he would exhibit along Desnoyer, Fautrier and others and became associated with the School of Paris. He also began create designs for tapestries in the early 1950s, and shortly afterwards, his work began to sway towards Abstraction.
Towards the end of his career, Latapie was commissioned to create murals and mosaics for public buildings. Throughout his career, his styles and techniques changed often, and he sometimes signed his work "Latapie" in cursive on the front of his canvas. He continued to work himself until his own mysterious disappearance in 1972, which is the assumed date of his death. Today his work is housed all over Europe, and perhaps in your own home. Still wondering about a Cubist painting hanging on your wall? Contact us to find out... we are the Louis Latapie experts.
Source: http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/latapie.php
Louis LATAPIE est un peintre français né en 1891 à Toulouse et décédé en 1972. Il rencontre Lipchitz lors de ses études à l’Académie Julian. Il se forme ensuite à l’Académie Ranson, où il apprend de Sérusier, avant d’y enseigner entre 1923 et 1924. Mobilisé lors de la guerre, il ne fut libéré qu’en 1919. Dès l’année suivante, il commence à exposer dans des expositions de groupe au Salon des Indépendants, à la biennale de Venise (1924), au Salon d’Automne (1936) etc. Il eu également de nombreuses expositions personnelles à Paris, dont une posthume en 1982, au palais des Papes à Avignon, au musée de Melun, au musée des Augustin à Toulouse etc. Il est influencé par le cubisme au moment de ses études. Il expose d’ailleurs en 1922, avec Jacques Villon, ses premières œuvres cubistes. Cependant au traitement de la nature par la forme, il préfère une approche sensible de la stylisation. La forte personnalité de Louis Latapie lui permet de garder une certaine distance par rapport à l’amas des nouvelles découvertes. En gardant à l’esprit une certaine tradition picturale, il compose avec un style propre. L’artiste est aussi illustrateur (La Maison du berger d’Alfred de Vigny), décorateur (pour de la stade Pierre de Coubertin) et réalise des cartons de tapisserie.
Source: http://www.artprecium.com/