Jean-Marie Cousset / French Artist

Reviews/Revues

Recent Review in Birmingham News Sunday Nobember 13,2005. JEAN MARIE COUSSET. Recent works. Monty Stabler Galleries. Through Nov. 25. An elegant craftsman, Jean Marie Cousset accurately draws views of nature with spiced up quirky little notions that add depth and humor to his vision. There is a genteel refinement that displays a mix of nostalgia and wishful thinking. His is a kind of surrealism that nudges reality into fantasy. A simple scene of a farm and field is transformed into a kind of bulletin board recollection by adding a rusted out chassis of a toy car and a miniature of a toy bull arbitrarily pinned to the field by a red ribbon. The illusory use of red ribbon and tacks to hold objects in place becomes a common theme in his work, including the utterly charming "Capucine," presenting a cat on a cushion that has a second head drawn at a juncture that allows for a momentary illusion of two cats. There is a mechanical mouse pinned to the chair fabric by a red ribbon and two tacks. In a total commitment to trompe-l'oeil painting, Cousset's ``Doors" is the painting of a beribboned board with post card pictures of doors shoved behind the color strands and a large key hanging from a nail. In several works, Cousset introduces long-beaked bird heads on human figures, reminiscent of Edward Gorey's witty fantasies. "In Front of My House" has such a creature sitting on the ridge pole of a tiled roof, surveying the surrounding fields. Fantasy plays a large part in Cousset's work, particularly in several large paintings of medieval castles and churches. ``Angouleme's Cathedral" rises out of a dark, amorphous region like the gleaming tooth of a dragon. The canvas is then taped together with an additional section at the top which presents an angel with a watering can trying to put out a bright fire in the upper reaches of the structure below. "Hotel Saint Simon in Angouleme" is a fantastic image of a fabulous hotel perched on a promontory with two bird-headed creatures in Renaissance dress and carrying the body of a third figure. Harmlessly frightful, these are visual fairy tales which inspire the imagination and send little shivers through the spirit. James R. Nelson is visual arts critic for The Birmingham News.

Dh couv

JMC Article French

Above in English

Under the protection of the Gods

The house was in a pitiful state so it was only to be expected that the plaster would drop off the walls. But what was completely unexpected were the traces of polychrome that were uncovered. Therefore Marc Boissinot undertook to strip all the walls of the vestibule of the southern entrance and in so doing were revealed : Neptune holding a fish in one hand and the other, not his trident but three narcissi ; Mercury recognisable from his caduceus and his winged feet ; two putti and an athletic Apollo hurling flames, all represented in a trompe l'oeil architectural setting. Jean-Marie Cousset, a local artist well know for his many frescoes, restored them in 2002. With a magnifying glass and held torch he spent four month to reveal the minutest of details. "Here there is no room for invention" he explain. "One must blend in with the existing pattern to try to guess." These frescoes a secco, were originally executed on a very thin layer of plaster on the left-hand wall, and on the right directly on to the stone . "This explains why there were so many missing sections." Whilst the architectural perspectives were relatively easy to reconstitute, the figure presented more of a challenge. Another difficulty was the fact that several different painters seemed to have been involved in the original work. When ? No doubt at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Who ? A mystery. And for what purpose ? The Latin texts placed beneath the gods give and Neptune. From this one can surmise that he did commission these frescoes which reflect his love of nature.

*François Boisrobert and Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac were founder members of the Académie Française.

Article by: Virginie de La Batut