Après-midi au bord de l'océan, 2023

Michel Trapezaroff  

Coming from a family of artists, Michel Trapezaroff began painting at the age of 12.

Landscaper, marked by the classical masters, it is part of the great realist tradition inaugurated by the Dutch in the 17th century and the Russian and Scandinavian naturalist schools of the 19th century.

His conception of the faithful representation of nature is accompanied by the requirement of an extremely careful workmanship, an impressive sense of detail, absolutely unique today. However, his painting can in no way be identified with the hyper-realistic current. Capable of great intensity of observation and sensation, he “tells” familiar landscapes imbued with peace and harmony.

Feeling the constant need to remain faithful to nature observed in its true light, he manages, thanks to a refined palette, a precise touch and an astonishing flexibility in the modulation of tones, to evoke the specific atmosphere of the site, the season, the hour, without the details disturbing the general balance.

Fruit of an unusual sensitivity and a solid mastery of the pictorial technique, each painting by Trapezaroff constitutes a precious collector's item which provides emotion and reverie of rare quality. Beatrice Hausamann, Berlin 1993

"Michel Trapezaroff maintains a deep respect for drawing and the classical rules of composition. Far from fashions and currents, he claims this classicism of writing.

His patience is endless. Its requirement is extreme. It is part of the tradition of painters. However, he manages to surprise, so much his paintings offer a sublimated vision of nature.

An isolated chalet in the snow, a bank of Lake Geneva, giant trees standing in the countryside, the undergrowth ... so many motifs drawn from life that it likes to reveal with force and poetry.

There is no need for instructions to understand his work. Just observe and let yourself be carried away by the magic of this naturalistic spectacle which unfolds its tranquil beauty. These panoramic views are lit with discretion and luminescence, revealing their intimacy in the softness of the color.

The measured touch seems to reveal the slightest rustling. There is a strange beauty, a delicate vibration, in these compositions which seem to be traversed by a thrill of happiness.

It reveals the intangible, it emphasizes the aesthetic universality of the landscape. Trapezaroff is a painter apart in our cultural landscape. His work could belong to past centuries.

It is today and will be tomorrow. She is simply beautiful and peaceful. "

Thierry Sznytka, Arts News Magazine - 2008