Claude Venard

French, 1913-1999

Claude Venard was a French post-Cubist painter celebrated for his bold use of color, textured surfaces, and inventive treatment of still life, landscape, and portrait subjects. Born in Burgundy, he studied at the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris, supporting himself as a restorer at the Louvre while developing his own approach to painting.

Early in his career, Venard exhibited with the Forces Nouvelles movement, which emphasized figurative clarity in reaction to both Surrealism and pure abstraction. After World War II, he became a founding member of the Salon de Mai and established the hallmarks of his mature style: thickly applied paint, often with a palette knife, and a geometric structuring of form. His vivid palette and energetic handling aligned him with a generation of French painters seeking to renew Cubist principles for the mid-20th century.

He exhibited widely across Europe, the United States, and Asia, earning critical and commercial success. Today, his paintings are represented in major museums including the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Tate in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Venard remains admired for his ability to combine formal qualities with an expressive vision that continues to resonate with collectors worldwide.