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RENÉ MARCIL (1917-1993)

Born: 1917, in Saint-Henri, Montréal, Canada

Died : 1993, in Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada

Artworks: MAD, Palais du Louvre, Paris    https://madparis.fr/IMG/pdf/ra18_mad_web_ok_26-06.pdf see pages 32, 93 & 162

Collection Nationale de France     https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Espace-documentation/Bulletin-officiel/Bulletin-officiel-n-296-septembre-2019

see page 127

Education: École des Beaux Arts, Montréal

René Marcil was a French Canadian artist, fashion illustrator who lived most of his professional life outside Canada. Starting in the mid 40’s in New York then moving to Paris in the 50’s and alternating between New York, Paris, London and South of France most of his life. His refined and precise fashion drawings made at the flick of the pen filled pages of the New York Times and magazines. They show women not just beautiful but also happy wearing Dior New Look outfits – Marcil’s talent assisted Dior to create a dream and making it come true.

The Dior New Look collection had an acclaimed successful launch in New York and saved Paris. Parisian Haute Couture recovered and was able to handle the rising competition from London and New York as global fashion centres? The New Look appealed strongly to the nostalgic mood of the post-war society. Marcil is considered by fashion aficionados to be on a par with artists such as Tom Keogh and Christian Bérard.

As photography took over fashion illustration in the 50’s, Marcil moved more and more towards which was his goal all along to be a fine art artist. His use of primary colors whether in his abstract or figurative works makes vibrant images and set him apart. One cannot look at a Marcil painting and stay indifferent so engaging his work is. He had art shows in major New York established galleries in the 50’s and the 60’s that were well received.

Marcil kept reinventing its creativity... kept pushing himself right through up to the end. Marcil was such an exception… painting with the energy and brio of a much younger man.

Marcil last great burst of creativity occurred in the late 80’s. These later works are naive, raw, spontaneous, witty, funny, gestural and majestic. Marcil revisited his past by making images of some of his relationships mostly with women. Then looking at the iconography, here he uses rough images, the cat, the bird, the cross, the bullet holes, the devil. These are images about power, relationships and meditation... they are also very poignant and vibrant works.

These images remain incredibly experimental. Right up to the end of his career, Marcil experimented with different combinations and techniques such as oil paint, gouache, industrial glossy oil paint, acrylic, felt, garbage bags, kraft paper, shower curtains, Plexiglas, plywood in addition to the more traditional surfaces. One can feel Marcil’s enjoyment in mixing and experimenting with all those media. And also the very different kind of gesture from one part of the piece to the other. We can see some areas are left completely blank while others are overly painted. These works are full of energy, of power, of virility.

One would never imagine these are works produced by a man well into his sixties. These are the works of an action painter in tune with changing times.

Marcil is an artist who went from creating fashion illustrations in the 40’s and fast forward to an era including Bowie, Prince, Annie Lennox, globalization, space exploration. Yet he managed to remain incredibly in tune with his time.

But possibly due to his bohemian lifestyle and the fact that he had a limp and a small arm as well as an uncertain private life has been somewhat the reasons of Marcil being neglected so far by history.

It often takes a long time for experts and critics to catch up with an artist’s latest period even though the artist's energy and genius is often at its best…

It was the case as well for Rembrandt who during his lifetime Rembrandt was known for his etchings not his paintings. Rembrandt produced his best work The Jewish Bride four years before he died at the age of 63.