Henri Montassier - Paintings (1880 - 1946)

Henri Montassier, born June 27, 1880 in Courlon-sur-Yonne and died June 7, 1946 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris1, was a French painter, caricaturist and illustrator of the 20th century.

He is the son of Albert Montassier, notary, and Marthe Fauche. He has a little brother, five years his junior, Jean.A lung condition affected him and prevented him from performing his military service.

His father sent him to study law in Paris, but he decided to join the workshop of Luc-Olivier Merson, head of workshop at the National School of Fine Arts. He lives in Montmartre then other districts of Paris.

In February 1918, he married Céline Rambach.

In 1934, he moved with his wife to the Gers. He did not return to Paris until the end of the Second World War and died there of his lung disease in 1946.

Henri Montassier produced numerous paintings (landscapes, nudes, portraits, still lifes) as well as illustrations, notably for La Baïonnette, Le Sourire, L'Illustration.

Montassier attended the Pontoise municipal school then was admitted to the Lycée de Sens. At 18, in 1898, he passed his baccalaureate in literature and philosophy. Despite a growing sensitivity and artistic taste, his father enrolled him at the law school of Paris as he was keen for him to join him in his law firm.
By 1900 a young man of 20 he discovered the pleasures of the capital and felt more attracted to museums than to law school. Provided with a letter of recommendation from Eugène Petit, the mayor of Pont, he passed the entrance examination to the Banque de France in 1902, and became friends with Luc Olivier Merson, a renowned artist who taught at the Beaux- Arts. Shortly after, Henri was admitted to the master’s studio. In 1906 and resigned from the bank.
During the Great War, he provided support to the soldiers through artistic contributions.
In 1917, Henri Montassier met his future wife Céline Rambach. They married in Paris in February 1918. Céline’s father believed strongly in his son-in-law’s painting and helped the young couple to settle down with a home and workshop in Paris.
He exhibits in the provinces but also in London, Munich, Geneva, Brussels, the United States and Japan. Awards and honours include
Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1932
Heiner Prize in 1937
Diploma of honor at the International Exhibition the same year.
Salon des Artistes Français (gold and silver medal),
Salon d’Automne (vice-president)
Salon des Indépendants.
He worked for L’Illustration during the late 1920’s to the 1930s and illustrates literary works. During this period between the wars he traveled extensively in France, Italy, and Tunisia. During the Second World War he took refuge with his wife Céline in a house in Gers. While continuing to paint, he also keeps a journal where he asks questions about art and his own work. He also talks of the his dismay in the face of the occupation of his country and its consequences to his family. Sadly it mentions his fears about the progress of his illness, his tenderness for his wife Céline who by now is not just a loving companion but a nurse.
Henri Montassier passed away in Paris during 1946 at the age of 66.