Background Image

Georges Visat

"Painting with its mystery parcels out my words."

Pic

Notes of biography

Georges Visat was born in Corsica in Foce di Mela in 1910. He spends his childhood in Monte Carlo. When he turns 14, he becomes apprentice in a Parisian printing shop where he discovers etching. He is not even 18 when he enrolls in drawing and watercolor classes at the Académie Colarossi and at La Grande Chaumière ; he is interested in all artistic movements. In 1929, Georges Visat enters The Ecole Superieure des Arts Décoratifs and, in 1932, collaborates in a printing shop specialized in printing aquaforte etchings. Laid off in 1936, Visat is going to work for about a year for the subway company, using his freetime to discover museums (« To get familiar with paintings » he will say later).
In 1937, Visat buys back his boss’printing shop and establishes an etching printing shop in the sixth district. Georges Visat will be captured by the enemy at the beginning of the second world war ; he will spend five long years as a prisoner in Germany. Once released, he comes back to Paris in 1945 and immediatly goes back to his printing business. Visat takes care of the Decaris’etchings printing, a major and crucial step for the printer.
Over the years, Georges Visat will meet others etchers, surrealist painters, writers, art and printing people. The Parisian Maeght art gallery asks him to realize interpreted etchings (etchings made after drawings or paintings) for major artists: Georges Braque, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall and Fernand Léger. These works realized together with the artists will allow him to gain and maintain strong relationship with them. Thus, Visat becomes a true friend of Braque, the latter will especially appreciate the interpretation of his own works by the etcher. From 1957, Visat is going to collaborate on a regular basis with the Foreign Affairs Department then with the French Presidency creating during several years greeting cards and menus for these institutions.

In 1961, Georges Visat creates his own publishing firm. He is going to publish or simply print etchings, lithographs and art books with strong friends such as Max Ernst and Dorothéa Tanning, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Roberto Matta, Wifredo Lam, Hans Bellmer, Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, Alechinsky, Francis Bacon, Man Ray or Jean-Michel Folon. Needless to say that some of them will benefit largely from this relationship to enhance their collection of etched work. Being around the Saint-Germain des Près neighbourhood puts him in touch with people from the litterary world like Raymond Queneau or Louis Scutenaire.
In 1978, the Georges Visat family leaves Paris and settles in the “Pyrénées-Atlantiques”, in his wife Suzanne’s native village.Visat likes to create mysterious atmospheres ; his work is non figurative and expresses his dreams, his moods and unconstrained association of ideas dear to surrealists. In 1985, the artist will be decorated for his « contribution to the French cultural influence worldwide ». Visat’s work is aware of eternity, it does perceive the burden of our mortal nature. Fine exhibitions will show his work in France and abroad.
Georges Visat who used to say « the hand sees, the eye searches » will die in 2001.

Artists on display

The art and the artists display: proclamations, galleries, museums, personal or collective exhibitions. On walls or in shop windows, wise or rebels, posters warn, argue, show. Some were specially conceived by an artist for such or such event, other, colder, have only the letter.

Some were created in lithographic technic, most are simple offset reproductions. They are many those who like collecting these rectangles of paper, monochrome or in games of colours, in matt paper or brilliant, with many words or almost dumb.

We are happy also to be able to greet, by this pages, mythical galleries as those of Denise René, Louis Carré, Claude Bernard, Berheim Jeune, Maeght, Pierre Loeb and others.

Pic

Complete work(s)

Complete work(s)
Non réalisé à ce jour All the complete works

Bibliographic track and more

To read about the artist :
  • « G. Visat, éditeur d'art », J. Adhémar, J. Stein, Ed. Gal. Air France, NY, 1968
  • « G. Visat », A. Häggqvist, J. Pierre, Ed. Sonet - Arenthon, Paris, 1976
  • « Graveur, éditeur d'art, peintre », T. West, Ed. Musée de Guéthary, 1992
  • « G. Visat, promeneur de l'imaginaire », J. Caubet, in La République, 1996
To read from the artist :
  • « Dialogue avec Georges Visat », T. West, Chez l'auteur et l'artiste, 1989
Website :
www.georgesvisat.com/

More :


Art movements

+ SCHOOL OF PARIS / 1945-1960 / Jean Degottex, Georges Mathieu, Nicolas de Staël, etc.
+ SURREALISM / 1924-1969 / Marcel Duchamp, Dora Maar, Kurt Schwitters, Taro Okamoto, Antonio Berni, etc.
All art movements

See & discover

Beyond works currently in stock, it seemed to me useful to combine business with pleasure by letting you discover others works by artists in my gallery. These artworks, now sold or removed from our website, have been in our stock in the past.

These pages will undoubtedly make it possible for some of you to associate an image with its title or the other way round, for others it will be a good time to discover more on such and such artist. For the sake of confidentiality – the pieces being no longer available – we won't display neither their numbering or their price. For whatever reason, make sure to visit this amazing art database with to date 6441 online works just for your pleasure! Michelle Champetier

See & discover