Édouard Righetti (1924-2001)

Huge French 20thC Modernist Oil Painting - Portrait of Blonde Lady Pink Swirls

Born July 14, 1924 in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes). Died in Paris in December 2001. 20th century. French. Engraver, painter and draftsman of compositions with characters, figures, landscapes, urban landscapes, seascapes, interiors, still lifes, animals, flowers. Édouard Righetti began by taking courses at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier. He then continued his training at the School of Decorative Arts in Nice. In 1949, he met the engraver Edouard Goerg and was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in his studio until 1954. There he learned to work with copper, aquatint, etching. at the waist, the drypoint. In 1953 he made a trip to Rome, Florence and Pisa. In 1956 he obtained a two-year scholarship to Casa Velasquez (Madrid). He participates in group exhibitions, among which: 1953, 40,000 years of Modern Art, Paris; 1958,1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, Salon Le Trait; 1959, Galerie Greuze, Paris; 1964, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tours, as well as at the Salon Pointe et Burin and at the Biennale de Paris. He shows his works in personal exhibitions, including: 1951, Menton; 1953, Galerie Eliane Norbert, Paris; 1961, Galerie Bonaparte, Paris; 1963, 1964, Le Nouvel Essor gallery, Paris; 1965, Galerie Bernier, Paris; 1965, Galerie La Gravure, Pully-Lausanne; 1979, retrospective, Palais de l'Europe, Menton; 1985, Bernheim-Guiot gallery, Paris. He moved to his studio on rue Léon-Dierx in 1964. Righetti's first engravings were still lifes and biblical scenes. He also engraved the sadness of the suburbs, melancholy portraits, and several medals for the Monnaie de Paris. The Department of Prints and Photography of the National Library of France keeps more than 200 of his works. He had been married to the artist Andrée Saunier since 1954.