Yves Brayer

Although he was independent and never belonged to a school, he was friends with Francis Gruber, the founder of the Nouveau Réalisme school. He first exhibited in the salons of 1927, and then traveled to Spain, where the masterpieces in the Prado Museum had a profound influence on him. After a stay in Morocco, he went to Italy, where he won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1930. He settled back in Paris in 1934, organizing his first solo exhibition. He remained in occupied Paris during World War II. After the war, he traveled widely to Mexico, Egypt, Iran, Greece, Russia, the United States and Japan, trying to capture the light and colors of each country. He was interested in the techniques of copper plate engraving and lithography and produced illustrations for editions of such authors as Charles Baudelaire and Paul Claudel. He also created murals and wall ornamentations, tapestry cartoons, maquettes, sets, and costumes for the Théâtre Français and the operas of Paris, Amsterdam, Nice, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Avignon. In 1954 Brayer was awarded to Grand prix des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, and he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1957. He was president of the Salon d'Automne for five years. In 1977 he was made curator of the Musée Marmottan in Paris, a position he held for 11 years. Brayer died in Paris in 1990.

Yves Brayer studied at Beaux-Arts de Paris and Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Gabriel Dauchot, Alain Le Nost and Jean-Pierre Pophillat are recorded as having studied under Yves Brayer. The recorded working language is French. Employment is recorded with Académie de la Grande Chaumière and Beaux-Arts de Paris. Positions recorded include curator. Work by Yves Brayer is recorded in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musée Carnavalet, Musée d'art moderne de Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper and Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery. Distinctions recorded are Prix de Rome, Officer of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the French Order of Academic Palms.

• Bottineau, Yves, L'Espagne (Arthaud, 1968) • Illustration — Commemorative plaque