Rouen, Terrasse sur la Seine, Circa 2010

Jean-Jacques René  

Born in Manche, near Coutances, in 1943, Jean-Jacques René arrived in Rouen just after the war. It’s an understatement to say that the Normandy coast and the city of 100 bell towers… he knows it well! He frequented museums from a very young age and very quickly, painting became his favorite field of experimentation. Since then, he has continued to set up his easel everywhere, and observes the world through the tip of his brush. He experiences each painting as an intimate and instinctive experience.

His favorite subjects range from “classic” landscape painting to portraits of children or people who left an impression on him. He expresses himself through watercolor, an “irreversible and capricious technique, full of freshness and spontaneity,” he explains. The renderings are luminous and full of nuances, and of an undeniable modernity. The artist also presents oil paintings, and offers a contemporary vision of the Normandy coast, its beaches, but also the banks of the Seine and the port of Rouen. Original and very personal creations.

Catherine Dente 76actu, June 2016.