Roland Oudot [antikvár]

t iMEi fr- Venus welcomed by the Hours or the Birth of Aphrodite, 1931 Oil 60" x 92" Charles Pomaret Collection, Nice i-oland Oudot is busy in his studio. It is very diftcrcnt from the too readily acceptcd picture, from the conception of the artist's untidiness and from inspiration " as one imagines it at the age of twenty " in the words of Verlaine. It is very diftcrcnt, all said and done, from a certain artificial romanticism and from the vain prestige which " art " and " arnsts " used to assume and still do. Ill town, there is nothing unusual about Oiidot's appcarance, On the contrary, he gives the impression of extreme clegance, which is reflected not only in his dress, but in his mannerisms and in his way of speaking. His hair is smooth, he is thin-lippcd with an alfable smile and a lively look behind large round glasses. He is discrcct, reserved, and perhaps a little distant, but no doubt this appearance only conceals a certain shyness. hi his studio and at his easel, he is just the same, apart from this touch of shyness which might be detrimental to his work. His studio is also a drawing-room. There is an easel, canvascs, picturc frames, and pots of brushes as well as old furniture and books, that gives the impression of a room used for working and for living in, for listening to music and for reading. For Oudot is passionately fond of music and literature and of the theatre in particular. These few features arc nothing more than an introduction seen from the outside. They are not without importance, however, for they contribute to a certain mode of living which may have something in connnon with the nature of his work. Oudot is busy in his studio working on one of his unfinished canvases, which may be a sunny sccnc of the Piazzetta or the Alpillcs, even if Paris is wrapped in a dull grey winter, for it is the one he wanted or needed to work on. As he once told Claude Roger Marx: " how much I would have liked to have been free to do anything I wanted ". But this was probably only a passing whim, or perhaps the expression of a certain feeling of joy and freedom experienced in front of the picture where he had met the writer. The incident occurrcd " at the preview ofthe work of one of the illustrious elders who in a combination of colours and shapes, where inventiveness predominates over feelings, are past-masters in extracting a sort of disembodied pleasure from appearances ". In any case, this is a statement that, to some extent, contradicts the character of Roland Oudot's work, or, alternatively, casts an oblique light upon it. Oudot was, in fact, never free to do whatever he liked. He did what he had to do and what he was destined to have to do. Does this mean he was devoid of creative imagination and tliat his art is but the application of stubborn will-power? This was certainly not the case. It would be as wrong to assume this as it would be to rcduce him to the few notions presented at the outset. His charactcr, and thus his painting, are not simple, and it is this rich complexity that it is our purpose to dcscribc. Roland Oudot was born in Paris on 23rd July 1897. Although his parents, too, were born in Paris, his father's family originated in the Franchc-Comtc and his mother's from the Landes. They also owned a house at Montfort-l'Amaury on the edge of the forest of Rambouillet and stayed there whenever possible. The time spent at Montfort-Lamaury was of greater significance to the painter than his provincial associations. " He loved taking long walks through woods and across fields in close touch with nature. Using coloured crayons, he sketched trees and villages on sheets out of exercise-books, and, later on at the lycée, he was always dreaming of holiday-time, paths hidden from view and the fragrant scents of hay-making and harvest ". That is how Madame Gisele d'Assailly recalled memories of the past which Oudot himself had confided in her. Although this glimpse of Roland Oudot as a little boy is inclined to be picturesque, it should, nevertheless, not be taken too lightly, for two reasons: first, because the artist himself confessed to Madame Gisele d'Assailly that he had " remained very young