André Cottavoz

ANDRÉ COTTAVOZ (Saint-Marcellin, France, 1922 - Vallauris, France, 2012).
"Acropolis."
Oil on paper adhered to board.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Exhibitions:
Arte del paesaggio dal XIX al XXI secolo, Galleria Michelangelo and Galleria d'arte Due Bi,
Bergamo, 06.03-06.04.2002.
Bibliography:
Arte del paesaggio dal XIX al XXI secolo, Bergamo, 2002, p.52.
Provenance: Private collection Bergamo

Measurements: 26.4 × 38 cm; 51 × 63 cm with frame.

André Cottavoz transforms classical architecture into a vibrant surface of matter and light. Columns, pediments and reliefs appear barely suggested among dense impasto, creamy whites, yellows, pale blues and touches of ochre, so that the monument is not depicted archaeologically, but as a plastic, almost tactile vision, bathed in Mediterranean clarity.

Cottavoz was one of the representatives of the so-called École de Lyon and was linked to the Sanzistes group, which emerged in post-war France as a reaction against the dominant academicisms and "isms". His work can be found in important art collections among which stand out; the Museum of Cahors Henri-Martin, the Museum d'Art moderne de Troyes, the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, among many others.