René Dessainte: « Arthur 1st of the classroom » painting oil on canvas

René Dessainte's pictorial art - he also practised watercolour - is a joy for the eyes and the heart. It is by the colour that it catches us, by a sparkling chromatic palette all in energy and jubilation. Bright tones arranged in flats with a readability close to the comic strip or colouring of our childhood. Let's not see any criticism because his creations designed in genre scenes are always thought out and built with great rigour. Characters in a group of 4 tightened in the centre in a placidity, a hieratism that evoke the Cubist art of a Gustave De Smet or the expressionism of a Constant Permeke. If the Flemish art of Laethem-Saint-Martin was imbued with gravity or sadness, the universe of On the contrary, René Dessainte breathes his love for simple humanity, releases a festive, invigorating vision. Scenes capturing obvious moments of happiness: rest after the effort of the harvest, marriage, the family protecting the child, the music concert, the housewife moulding the coffee, the accordionist. As in a photograph where we pose without moving, the characters look at us with the air of saying: 'See how easy it is to be happy! '. A little nostalgia can win us over by contemplating this vanished world but in the meantime, Mr. Dessainte's works do us good. It is the harmonious world of card games, popular fanfares, friendly tables. Director, colourist without repentance, creator of an original human type, René Dessainte leaves us a dense work that we cannot forget. Louis Richardeau extracted from the site quefaire.be