ARTIST: Cornelis Le Mair (Holland, 1944 - ???)
TITLE: Still Life with Pitcher and Books
MEDIUM: oil on board
CONDITION: Few minor paint losses. No visible inpaint under UV light.
ART SIZE: 10 x 12 inches / 25 x 30 cm
FRAME SIZE: 14 x 16 inches / 35 x 40 cm
SIGNATURE: lower left
NAME VARIANTS: Cornelius LeMair
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
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SKU#: 127545
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BIOGRAPHY:
Le Mair was born in Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 1944. He began drawing and painting at the young age of five and while in kindergarten, he was often made to show his paintings in other classes even though he was shy about doing so.After completing high school, he worked for a short period as a designer of woven fabrics.At this same time, le Mair's artistic endeavors led him to learn the art of music. First learning to play the guitar from friends, he began performing at youth centers. This love of music expanded into him learning to play the mandolin, turning lye, banjo, and bagpipes.Just after his eighteenth birthday, le Mair was accepted into military service where his lack of conforming led him to a maximum solitary confinement sentence. After a month in training, the army physician and le Mair agreed that he was born to be an artist and released le Mair from military services.Once he returned home, with the encouragement from his parents, le Mair began his art schooling at the Art Academy (Kustacademie) in '˜s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. There he found that the school was geared for modernism and after painting a portrait of a fellow classmate, his teachers advised le Mair to look for a school where the traditional ideas were still taught. Longing to study the classical arts, he applied and was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts (Koninklijke Kunstacademie) in Antwerp, Belgium in 1965. After studying under Professor Victor Dolphijn, le Mair graduated cum laude in portrait and figure paintings in 1968. He was then promoted to study as a student of the Higher Institute, a structure at a higher university level where he studied under Rik Slabbinck. After realizing that Slabbinck's direction was hypermoderistic, le Mair left the Academy.In 1970 he moved back to Eindhoven with his wife and child where he established himself as an independent painter, transforming his homes sunroom into his studio.The discovery of the Pre-Rahaelites inspired le Mair to create life-sized paintings and around 1980 he began working on an idea to create a large format triptych. In the spring of 1982 le Mair began his nine-year composition of his large triptych entitled "The Allegory of the Transitoriness of Beauty" ("Allegorie van de Vergankelijheid"). The "Vanity Triptych", according to le Mair, is "the largest and most ambitious work I have created". Measuring 13.5 ft by 21 ft, the piece consists of three panels displaying the Three Graces of classical mythology, painted in oil on board and surrounded by a frame designed and handcrafted by le Mair. In the center of the piece, under the middle panel, sits an equally ornate, hand-built musical instrument. After its completion, the triptych was shown in its finished state in the Museum Kempenland in Eindhoven (1995), the Castle of Zeist (1997), and in the Westfries Museum (1999).Cornelis le Mair works in the best of three traditions - the Renaissance, the Romantic, and the Modern. His paintings are inspired by the artistic elements, composition, working light and shadow, and body positions seen in those of the Old Masters, but at the same time have their own identity through his use of wider brushstrokes.In 2004, he was named one of the 10 most influential people in Eindhoven over the past four decades, side by side with the city's former mayor and the company founder of Philips Electronics. Adding to this recognition, a Dutch tourist commission has underwritten the publishing of a 200-page book, slated to release in 2010, on the life and art of Cornelis le Mair to recognize his accomplishments as a contemporary artist.Le Mair prefers to avoid the commercial aspect of his art. Most of his work is commissioned, and upon completion, many paintings disappear behind the doors of collectors - among them wealthy aristocrats in Europe and other parts of the world that are both lucky and influential enough to get the attention and the commitment of this exceptional artist. Had he chosen to place his works with more galleries worldwide, he would probably be one of the most widely known and prestigious living masters today.