Adolphe Beaufrère (1876 - 1960)

Painter and engraver of the Pont-Aven School, born in Quimperlé, Adolphe Beaufrère evolved in a merchant environment. At the age of 21, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts and attended the workshops of Gustave Moreau and then Fernand Cormon to perfect his drawing skills and learn the rigors of engraving!

In 1898, his first exhibition at the Paris Salon reflected his stays in Pont Aven and Le Pouldu where he painted from the ground up. From this date until the end of the 1940s, he regularly exhibited his engravings and paintings in the great Parisian salons.

An experience will mark his style and his passion for color, after winning a competition of the Ministry of Fine Arts in 1911, for which he leaves for two years to travel. He lived in Algeria at the Villa Abd-el-Tif, a small palace in the Algerian countryside that housed artists from the metropolis. From there, he criss-crossed the coast and the Algerian countryside, producing a lot of work in gouache and pastel. He traveled to Italy and Spain and often returned to North Africa.

1920 is the beginning of his fame, his engravings are distributed by the famous galleries Sagot-Le Garrec in Paris and Conalghi in London. Adolphe Beaufrère walked the coast between Audierne and Larmor-Plage, where he settled since 1922. Accustomed to country lanes and coastal paths, most often by bicycle, Adolphe Beaufrère has a deep knowledge of nature. His favorite themes that he realized on the ground are essentially estuaries, rivers and seaside landscapes but also views of the argoat, farms, work of the peasants. In countless creations, he gives the tree a major place, it is in turn strength, height, protection, nature in its pure state. The painter goes to the essential, he integrated the teaching of the synthesis specific to the movement created by Gauguin. The flat colors build his paintings and give shape to his compositions.

It is present in many French and Algerian museums.