Jean Dufy

Biography of Jean Dufy

Jean Jacques Gustave Dufy was born in Le Havre, at 15 rue de l'Espérance, on March 12, 1888 and died on May 12, 1964 in Boussay. A French painter, he is known for his works influenced by the techniques of his brother Raoul Dufy, as well as for his involvement in important decorative projects.
Jean Dufy was the seventh of eleven children of Léon Marius Dufy, an accountant and amateur musician, and Marie Eugénie Ida Lemonnier, a native of Honfleur. After studying at the Collège Saint-Joseph in Le Havre, he worked in an import house before becoming a secretary on the transatlantic liner La Savoie. Following his military service, he moved to Paris where he met major figures in the art world such as André Derain, Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
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Jean Dufy exhibited his first watercolors in 1914 at the Berthe Weill gallery. Although mobilized during the First World War, he continued to paint and draw landscapes and scenes of daily life. After the war, he engaged in various artistic projects, including creating models for Théodore Haviland porcelain, which earned him a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925. He exhibited his works in Paris, notably at the Salon d'Automne, and in New York. In 1937, he contributed to the decoration of the electricity pavilion for the Universal Exhibition, collaborating with his brother Raoul Dufy on a monumental fresco entitled La Fée Électricité. This collaboration, although welcomed, gave rise to tensions between the brothers. Jean Dufy spent the last years of his life in Limousin and Touraine, finding inspiration in landscapes and village scenes. His travels in Europe and North Africa further enriched his work. A renowned painter, he regularly exhibited in Paris and the United States, with works present in prestigious collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He died on May 12, 1964 in Boussay, two months after his wife Ismérie, in the village where he had settled in 1948.
Jean Dufy's legacy is characterized by his contribution to the art world through his distinctive works and influential collaborations.