Eugène Corneau (1894-1976) The banks of the Marne at Charenton (circa 1930-1935) Oil on canvas 75x163cm Eugène Corneau (1894-1976) Close friend of Modigliani, appreciated by Elie Faure who exhibited him in his salon on boulevard Saint -Germain between Renoir and Cézanne, Eugène Corneau frequented artistic and literary avant-garde circles. Son of a peasant Bérichon, he arrived in Paris at the age of 17. He exhibited for the first time in 1918. He began to engrave in 1920, the year he became a founding member of the Young French Painting group. Member of the Salon d'Automne from 1921, he joined Dufresne, Despiau, Laprade, Valtat….. He was noticed at the Salon des Tuilerie in 1923. Member of the Society of French painters-engravers and of the Printmaking Society in 1924 In 1925, he was awarded the prize of the general government of Algeria and joined the villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers. At that time, he was the friend of Albert Marquet, with whom he stayed in 1925, and of Eugène Clairin. In 1927, on his return to France, he discovered Pontaubert, in Yonne near Avallon, where he often stayed before settling there. In 1928, he was part of the selection of painters for an exhibition “Modern French Art” in Brussels. He was present at the Petit Palais at the 1937 Exhibition. He traveled to the United States, Holland, Italy, Venice where he was invited to the 1940 Biennale, and from 1940 to England and Belgium. Member of the National Book Committee in 1947, and that of the Salon d'Automne in 1953, he was appointed professor of engraving at the School of Fine Arts in Algiers until 1962. Public collections: Museums; from Albi, Algiers, Annecy, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Bourges, Constantine, Ghent, Oran, Poitiers, Rodez, Tunis. Paris Musée national d'art moderne, Bibliography: Noêl Coret Les Peintres de la vallée de la Marne, editions La Renaissance du livre, 2000. Reproduced on page 55 Élisabeth Cazenave, La Villa Abd El Tif, half a century of artistic life in Algeria (1907-1962), Paris, Abd El Tif editions, 1998. The Artists of Algeria. Dictionary of painters, sculptors, engravers (1830-1962), Bernard Giovangeli editor, 2001.
