Bauchant, André

(1873-1958)

   painter

   Born in Château-Renault, André Bauchant was the son of a vintner and was himself a horticulturist. He began painting during World War I and exhibited at the Salon d'automne in 1921. Influenced by le corbusier, jacques lipshitz, and andré lurçat, Bauchant received recognition at his own show in 1927, and soon after, the impresario Sergey Diaghilev commissioned him to do the ballet sets for Stravinski's Apollon musagète (1927). A representative of art naïf and considered a painter of popular realism, Bauchant devoted himself to "grand genre," portraying with ingenuity and imagination biblical, mythological, and historical subjects, often done in a range of bright colors. He also painted bouquets, landscapes, rustic scenes, and portraits in deep and warm tones.