Michel Patrix, abstract painting of the town of Duclair, oil on canvas, 20th century

Michel Patrix was a French figurative painter and engraver, born on May 25, 1917 in Cabourg (Calvados) and died on May 4, 1973. He was a member of the Second School of Paris, an artistic movement that developed after the Second World War and brought together artists from diverse backgrounds. Michel Patrix spent his youth in different parts of France. He attended the Collège des Doctrinaires in Brive-la-Gaillarde, where he undoubtedly received a solid general education. Later, he moved to Moissac, where he stayed at the Abbaye Saint-Pierre. Michel Patrix's family was passionate about the arts and music, but did not support his artistic career. His father was an engineer, inventor and manufacturer of carpentry machine tools. Although his parents were interested in the arts, they did not encourage him to pursue a career in this field. He arrived in Paris in 1941 and frequented André Lhote's studio, then that of Othon Friesz when he joined the Groupe de l'échelle founded in 1942, so called for the habit its members had of climbing a ladder to observe the rooftops of Paris. Joining him in a small studio on the second floor of the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière were painters Geneviève Asse, Jacques Busse, Jean-Marie Calmettes, Ernest-René Collot, Jean Cortot, Daniel Dalmbert and Christiane Laran, as well as sculptor Jacques Dufresne.