Jean-Pierre Pophilat

Born at the Clinique de la Pergola in Vichy, Jean-Pierre Pophillat spent the first nine years of his life in Lapalisse, where his father was an assistant pharmacist and his mother a piano teacher. He lived from 1946 in Raincy, his parents then exercising the profession of herbalist.

Carrying out his secondary studies at Raincy, his drawing teacher was Louis Parrens (1904-1993) - author in 1953 of the book Perspective and drawing shadows: theory and practice which would be regularly republished2 - who, in 1952, encouraged him to present the same year for the entrance examination to the National School of Applied Arts and Crafts where he entered in October 1953 to learn the techniques of monumental art - mosaic, tapestry, stained glass , fresco, but also lacquer with Pierre Bobot - and receive his diploma in June 19573.

Admitted in October 1957 to the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he was taught in the preparatory class by Yves Brayer, Georges Rohner, Georges Cheyssial, Edmond Heuzé and Jean-Eugène Bersier (the latter teaching the art of engraving ), he joined the studio of Roger Chapelain-Midy3 there in 1958, then took part in the Salon de la Jeune Peinture alongside Bernard Buffet, Maurice Boitel, Xavier Valls, Michel-Henry and Pierre-Henry.

In 1964, winner of the Casa de Velázquez Prize (he was part of the 35th promotion with Arnaud d'Hauterives), he stayed in Madrid until 19664. According to the testimony of his friend Jean Canavaggio who met him there for the first time, his painting rocked there in a "new way" which was to definitively replace the dark tones which had hitherto placed him in the continuity of Francis Gruber and the misery of the post-war period: "in contact with Spain , its traditions and its contrasts, we saw its palette gradually brighten, its landscapes welcoming the chalky whites of Andalusia, its horizons soaking up the light of the Castilian plateau"3.

Since 1959, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including: Salon de la Jeune Peinture, Salon d'Automne, of which he became a member in 19725, Salon Comparaisons where he exhibited for forty years in the group of Maurice Boitel6, Salon de la National Society of Fine Arts, Salon of French Artists, of the committee and jury of which he became a member in 19703. The National Navy Prize awarded to him in 1978 earned him a trip aboard La Jeanne in Polynesia3.

He regularly paints in the surroundings of his properties in Cannes and Deauville vivid and colorful works inspiring the joy of living. Gérald Schurr also cites landscapes of the Vosges and the bay of Arcachon7.