Pierre Eugene Montezin Paintings

Pierre Montézin’s father, a lace designer, found him a job with a design company, where he soon devoted himself to murals. Strongly influenced by the theories of Impressionism, he later embarked on a career as an artist in his own right. In about 1903 he came into contact with Quost who made him work on his drawing and gave him a taste for painting. He enlisted in 1914 for the duration of the war, and took up painting again on his return. He lived in Dreux and Moret for a year, and spent his holidays there from then on. Montézin was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1923 and in 1940 was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, taking the place left vacant by Edouard Vuillard’s death.

Montézin submitted a work to the Salon des Artistes Français for the first time in 1893, but it was rejected, as were all his subsequent attempts for ten years. It was not until 1903 that he was accepted, winning a third-class medal in 1907 and a second-class medal in 1910. He also exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français after World War I and was awarded the Rosa Bonheur prize in 1920. He was made a member of the society and honoured as hors concours, as well as being made a member of the committee and of the jury of the Salon des Artistes Français after having received their medal of honour.

Montézin’s painting was well-received, his technique – a distant descendant of Impressionism – captivating many by its virtuosity.

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Mannheim (Städtische Kunsthalle): Flowers
Paris (MAMVP): Making Hay in Normandy (1940)
Paris (Mus. du Petit Palais): Poplar Trees