Pierre Guastalla

Biography of Pierre Guastalla

Pierre Guastalla, born August 5, 1891 in Saint-Cloud and died October 8, 1968, is a French painter, illustrator, copper engraver, xylographer and lithographer.
Son of Élie dit Jules Guastalla, a rentier, and Louise-Henriette Dann, Pierre Guastalla obtained an engineering degree from the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1912. Mobilized in 1914 as a second lieutenant in the artillery, he joined the air force in 1917 as a lieutenant. His services earned him the Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 and the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1934, as well as the Escapees' Medal and the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1949.
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After the First World War, Guastalla turned to art. A free student at the Académie Ranson under Jacques Beltrand, he became one of the most prolific engravers of his time, active from 1921 to 1968 with approximately 600 plates including woodcuts, etchings, diamond drypoints and lithographs. His works cover a variety of themes such as landscapes, seascapes and nudes. He exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants and his paintings are present in several museums. In 1929, he was one of the founders of the Jeune Gravure contemporaine, and he was praised by Gustave Kahn and Paul Fierens. Also a writer, he published a "Treatise on Aesthetics" in 1928 and a travel diary, "Aix-en-Provence and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire", in 1965. Pierre Guastalla died on October 8, 1968 in Paris. He had married Lina Assher in 1919.
His contribution to printmaking and art is widely recognized, marking an era of great artistic creativity.