Collection: André-Eugène-Louis Chochon

Through both his parents, René Chochon and Marguerite Rey du Boissieu, André Chochon belongs to two old Rennes families. From 1928 to 1930, André Chochon first trained at the Beaux-Arts in Rennes, where he was taught by Jules Ronsin. He then moved to Paris and graduated from the Ecole nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was a student of Lucien Simon and Sabatté. He exhibited at the Société des Artistes Français in 1933. In 1938, he competed for the Prix de Rome and won the Second Grand Prix for a composition on the following subject: "You will earn your bread by the sweat of your brow". In December 1940, he received a scholarship from the Casa de Velasquez, but was not able to go to Spain until after the end of the war (1946-1947).

André Chochon has always painted in a figurative manner. He is recognizable by his smooth and rounded touch, which has accompanied him throughout his life. Several periods can be identified in his work: - "Social painting": Very influenced by the monumentalism of Soviet realism, he highlights human effort and worker courage, as evidenced by the work he presented for the Prix de Rome. - "Post-war miserabilism": The trials of war mark both André Chochon's palette and subjects of inspiration. The artist paints beggars, the infirm marked by suffering. He also paints intimate subjects that gradually lead him to rediscover a more optimistic inspiration. - "A poetry with smiling colors": Little by little, Chochon's paintings are populated with young women with long hair biting cherries, harlequins and clowns. The landscapes become more cheerful. Poetic inspiration and calm colours ensure André Chochon a public success that has never been denied.

André Chochon died in 2005. His works are in the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux (Rennes Museum of Fine Arts), the ENSBA, etc. In his early works, he signed with the initial of his first name, then dropped the initial to sign with his single surname.