Paul Cirou , oil on canvas " Auto Portrait "

Painting by Paul Cirou (1869-1951) signed and dated 1934. French painter XX, genre paintings, portraits and oriental landscapes. He took part in the Salon des Artistes de Paris from 1904 to 1943 and the Salon des Tuileries from 1939 to 1941Painting of Paul Cirou (1869-1951) was a pupil at the Dijon School of Fine Arts and then at the Julian Academy in Paris. He made his debut at the Salon des artistes français in 1898, with landscapes and portraits, notably of his father. He painted marsh landscapes during his stays in Normandy. He discovered Algeria in 1907 for health reasons and settled there in 1912. He lived and worked there until 1936. He painted the portrait of the Governor General and produced a series of colourful Orientalist-inspired works. On his return to Paris, he taught with his wife in his studio in the rue de la Tombe-Issoire. He successfully exhibited his Algerian works. He designed cartoons for large tapestries commissioned by the Manufacture des Gobelins, and the State bought works from him such as Les porteuses d'eau kabyles, Fleurs à la fenêtre and Sur le lac Léman. In 1929, he took part in the Salon des indépendants1. After the death of his wife in 1950, he returned to his family in Sainte-Mère-église. He died in 1951 before he could complete his project to paint frescoes there on the theme of the Second World War.