Series of 6 portraits of African warriors

Series of 6 gouaches on canvas African Warriors
ARTIST: Jean POULAIN (1884-1967)
TECHNIQUE: Gouache on canvas
PERIOD: 1959
DIMENSIONS of each canvas: 43cm X 51cm
COPY: 6 Original works signed lower right
Jean Poulain, artist explorer and traveler
Jean Poulain was born in 1884 in Katanga (region of the former Belgian Congo) son of a mining engineer during the reign of Leopold II. A self-taught artist, from a young age, he will be in search of all the emotions and beauty of Africa. His love and passion for drawing are incredible. Over the years, drawing becomes for him a writing that nothing stops. In 1904, he decided to leave his family nucleus to sketch and discover the wonders of Africa. He thus explored the entire territory of the Congo which was still the property of the King of Belgium Leopold II. In 1912 he set off to discover the African continent. He then went back and forth between his passion for these different African countries and his family cocoon in Katanga. During his travels, he met his future wife, the daughter of a mining operator (copper mines). He married her in 1917. It was then the explosion of his life. Because thanks to the support of his father-in-law, all of Africa opened up to him. He became a voracious observer, every nook and cranny of his little trips on the African continent were sketched and sketched. From 1920, he established himself as a painter and especially as an animal artist. He then leaves with his wife in search of the large animals of the savannah, capturing their attitudes closest to reality. Together they travel through vast countries and regions of Africa such as Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa and many other countries. Through these travels and thanks to his curiosity and humanism, he will meet tribes as well as secret clans. Nevertheless, endowed with great humanity, he prefers to keep these places of his visited sites silent, in order to preserve them from civilization. From all his travels, he results in multiple drawings and sketches from which he tries to bring out the entire animal world and moreover the tribal universe of Africa. In the years 1935/40, on his return from his expeditions, he makes numerous drawings and sketches taken from his sketchbooks and his photographs. He savors his memories in his studio by transcribing his emotion on canvas and paper. Thirsty for curiosity, he will produce throughout his life a few thousand drawings and sketches as well as a hundred paintings. It is in 1967 that he dies leaving no heir behind him, except the pleasure on the look of his work. Following the conflict, present in Congo at that time for the independence of the country and following the death of her husband, his wife will gather a large part of his works and will be repatriated to the Belgian territory. She will also die in 1973. For nearly 30 years, the talent and the works of Jean Poulain will remain in oblivion. A great-nephew will inherit it without ever realizing the talent of his grandfather. Fortunately, since 2002, Jean Poulain's talent has been recognized on the art and antiques market, making him an undeniably qualified and talented artist in animal and Africanist art.
*This work is sold as is, its nature as a second-hand good implies the buyer's acceptance of the possibility that it may contain signs of use, wear, fragility, age or restoration due to the passage of time.

Ref: JNJ74KE9WE