Alix Aymé (1894-1989)


Alix Angèle Marguerite Hava, born in Marseille in 1894, studied drawing and music at the Conservatory of Toulouse. A prodigy, gifted in music as well as art, at the age of fifteen she won a gold medal in piano and considered a musical career before becoming a painter. After her graduation from the Conservatory, she moved to Paris where she became a pupil, and then a colleague, of the important Nabi painter Maurice Denis. In 1910 she collaborated with Denis on the decoration of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Later she worked in the Studios of Sacred Art founded by Maurice Denis and Georges Devallières in 1919. She married in 1920 and went to Shanghai with her first husband, Professor Paul de Fautereau-Vassel, who was posted to the Franco-Chinese Mission there. In 1921, living then in Hanoi, she took part as a staff artist in several scientific expeditions to China. In 1925 she was made a professor and taught drawing at the French Lycée in Hanoi. In 1926, the artist and her husband returned to Paris where their son, Michel, was born. While in Paris, she was commissioned to do the illustrations for a French edition of Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, which she did using drawings she had made on a visit to Ceylon. When Fautereau-Vassel decided to remain in France, his wife, taking her young son with her, returned to the life she had created for herself in Asia.  

In 1930, she had an exhibition at the Galerie Portal in Saigon, and then settled in Luang Prabang (Laos) where she became close to the ruling family and was commissioned to do a series of large murals in the Royal Palace (official name: Haw Kham, and today a national museum.). The murals in what was the King’s reception room depict everyday life in Laos. According to the Royal Palace Museum web site, each of the murals “…is intended to be viewed at a different time of day, depending on the light that enters the windows on one side of the room, which matches the time (of) day depicted.” The murals are considered a national treasure. Unfortunately, there are no reproductions of the murals as it is forbidden by the government to photograph them. In 1931, Aymé moved back to Hanoi and was named professor at the Lycée Albert Sarraut. There she taught the ancient Vietnamese art of lacquer work which she had earlier mastered. In July of that year she returned to Paris and married Colonel Georges Aymé, who later became General Aymé, Commander of the French Army in Indochina. Maurice Denis was one of the witnesses at her marriage. Her husband’s brother, Marcel Aymé, became one of the most celebrated French novelists of the 20th century after the artist helped launch his career by introducing him to one of her friends at the publishing house Gallimard. While in Paris, she had an exhibition at the Galerie Druet and was invited to work on the important Colonial Exhibition to which she contributed a number of works done in lacquer. In 1935 there was a large exhibition of her work in Saigon.  

During her years in Asia, Aymé traveled extensively in Indochina, India, and Ceylon. She also visited and painted in China, Japan, and Korea. When she returned to live in Paris in 1945, she was commissioned to do the mural decorations of a chapel in Luc-sur-Mer (Calvados). During this period she became a close friend of, and worked with, the painter Foujita. In 1948 she was given an exhibition at the Galerie Moullot in Paris and moved into an apartment/studio in the Porte de St. Cloud, where she continued to live and work after the death of her husband in 1950. That same year, she was given an exhibition in Paris at the Galerie de la France d’ Outremer on the rue de la Boétie, and published an article on the art of lacquer in the journal Tropique. In 1952, there was an exhibition in Florence of her works in lacquer, which were also shown in 1952 in Paris in rue de la Boétie. For the journal Pax Christi, in 1960 Aymé wrote and illustrated Paul et Kao au Laos, a story of seven episodes drawn from her experiences in Laos. In 1961 she was given an exhibition at the Galerie Rauch in Monaco. In 1962, Aymé went to live and paint for eight months in Brazzaville in the Congo, the final journey of a life spent largely in travel, exploration, painting and drawing. Alix Aymé died on her 95th birthday while putting the finishing touches to one of her lacquer pieces.  

Her work is found in a number of public collections, including the Cabinet des Dessins of the Louvre and the Musée des Années Trente in Paris, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in La Rochelle, and the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang.  

Bibliography: Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire Critique et Documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Gründ, Paris, 1999..... Menonville, Corinne de, La Peinture Vietnamienne, une aventure entre tradition et modernité, Arhis, Castillon, 2003..... Paris-Hanoi-Saigon, catalogue of the exhibition, Pavilion des Arts, Paris, 1998


Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Portrait of a Young Man Seated Backwards on a Chair
Tempera on canvas
Signed, lower right: "Alix Aymé”
Canvas size: 23 X 15 1/2 inches
Frame size: 31 X 23 1/2 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10032 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Portrait of a Seated Woman in a Red & White Dress
Tempera on canvas
Signed, lower right: “Aymé”
Canvas size: 25 1/2 X 19 5/8 inches
Frame size: 32 1/2 X 26 5/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10033 Price On Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Landscape with Trees and Shadows; Houses in the Background
Oil on canvas
Estate stamp on verso
Canvas size: 25 1/2 X 19 5/8 inches
Frame size: 24 1/8 X 28 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10034 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Village in a Landscape
Oil on canvas
Estater stamp on verso
Canvas size: 16 1/2 X 23 1/4 inches
Frame size: 24 X 30 5/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10035 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Landscape: A Mountain Village
Oil on canvs
Estate stamp on verso
Canvas size: 14 1/4 X 25 3/4 inches
Frame size: 21 3/4 X 33 1/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10036 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Market Scene with Three Monks in Yellow Robes
Oil on board
Signed on verso in pen & ink: Alix Aymé
Board size: 13 X 20 5/8 inches
Frame size: 17 5/8 X 25 3/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10037 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Portrait of a Young African Woman Holding Her Head in Her Right Hand
Charcoal and colored chalks on beige wove paper
Estate stamp lower left
Sheet size: 18 X 14 5/8 inches
Frame size: 27 1/2 X 24 1/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10038 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Portrait of a Young African Woman Holding Her Head in Both Hands
Charcoal and colored chalks on beige wove paper
Atelier stamp lower right
Sheet size: 18 X 14 5/8 inches
Frame size: 27 1/2 X 24 1/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10039 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Market Scene
Charcoal and brown chalk on beige wove paper
Estate stamp lower right
Sheet size: 8 15/16 X 12 inches
Frame size: 15 3/4 X 18 3/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10040 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Seated Young Man Holding His Head in His Left Hand
Pencil drawing on tan wove paper
Signed, lower left: "Alix Aymé"
Sheet size: 14 9/16 X 10 1/4 inches
Frame size: 20 3/4 X 16 3/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10041 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Young Boy, Seated and Holding His Knees
Charcoal drawing on beige wove paper
Signed, lower left: "Aymé"
Sheet size: 12 9/16 X 9 5/8 inches
Frame size: 19 1/4 X 16 1/2 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10042 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Seated Male Figure, Rear View
Charcoal drawing on beige wove paper
Signed, lower right: "Alix Aymé”
Sheet size: 12 1/2 X 9 7/16 inches
Frame size: 18 1/2 X 15 1/2 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10043 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Sleeping Youth
Colored chalks and charcoal on tan wove paper
Signed, lower right: “A. Aymé”
Sheet siz: 10 5/8 X 14 9/16 inches
Frame size: 18 X 21 3/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10044 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Mother and Child
Colored chalks, watercolor and charcoal on ivory wove paper
Estate stamp lower right
Sheet size: 12 1/8 X 9 3/8 inches
Frame size: 16 3/8 X 14 1/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10045 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Two Young Men; One Standing, One Sitting
Pencil drawing on beige wove paper
Estate stamp, lower right
Sheet size: 11 15/16 X 8 15/16 inches
Frame size: 18 1/2 X 15 5/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10046 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Young Girl Wearing a Blue Dress
Tempera on canvas
Signed, lower right: “Alix Aymé”
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Canvas size: 21 3/4 X 15 inches
Frame size: Frame size: 28 1/2 X 21 3/4 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC09048 Price on request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Female Nude with a Vase of Flowers
Oil on canvas
Signed and inscribed, lower left: “Alix Aymé/Hanoi”
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Canvas size: 24 X 28 inches
Frame size: 31 X 36 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC09049 Price on request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Study of the Head of a Young Boy
Charcoal drawing on off-white beige paper
Signed, lower right: “Alix Aymé”
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Private collection, Paris
Sheet size: 8 1/2 X 6 3/4 inches
Frame size: 15 X 13 1/2 inches

FC07101 Price On Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Vase of Carnations
Tempera on silk
Signed lower right: “Alix Aymé”
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Silk size: 14 1/4 X 18 1\4 inches
Frame size: 22 X 26 inches
In a handcrafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC09044 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Sleeping Youth
Charcoal and colored chalks on beige wove paper
Atelier stamp, lower left
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Sheet size: 10 5/8 X 9 1/2 inches
Frame size: 18 1/4 X 16 1/2 inches
In a handcrafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC09043 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Portrait d’une Africaine
Watercolor, colored chalks and charcoal
Signed lower right: “Alix Aymé”
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Sheet size: 9 1/2 X 12 3/4 inches
Frame size: 29 X 22 1/4 inches
In a handcrafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC09047 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Two Children
Watercolor, pen & ink, ink wash, and charcoal
Signed, lower right, in pencil: “A Aymé”
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Sheet size: 17 1/2 X 22 1/4 inches
Frame size: 26 1/4 X 30 3/4 inches
In a handcrafted frame from Les Cadres RG, Paris
FC06231 Price On Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Child in a Crib; Window with a View of Roofs & a Tower
Watercolor and charcoal
Signed, lower right:
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Sheet size: 21 1/4 X 15 3/8 inches
Frame size: 27 1/2 X 21 1/2 inches

FC04073 Price On Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
A Child in a Crib; Window Looking Out Over a Garden
Watercolor and charcoal
Signed , lower right:
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Sheet size: 20 1/8 X 14 1/8 inches
Frame size: 26 X 20 inches

FC04074 Price On Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Three Young Children in Blue and White
Watercolor, pastel, and charcoal
Signed, lower left: "Alix Aymé"
Sheet size: 20 1/8 inches X 26 1/4 inches
Frame size: 33 X 27 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10051 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Young Boy Wearing a Coat
Charcoal, watercolor and pastel
Signed, lower right: "Alix Aymé”
Sheet size: 28 1/4 X 15 1/8 inches
Frame size: 20 3/8 X 23 3/8 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10052 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Head of a Young Boy, Facing Right
Watercolor and charcoal on ivory wove paper
Signed, lower right:
Sheet size: 8 X 5 7/8 inches
Frame size: 14 5/16 X 12 3/4
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10050 Price on Request

  Beach Scene

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Figures on a Beach
Pen & ink drawing on tan wove paper
Atelier stamp, lower right
Sheet size: 12 5/8 X 9 5/8 inches
Frame size: 18 ½ X 15 ½ inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10054 Price on Request

 

Alix Aymé  1894-1989
Young Boy with Wavy Brown Hair
Charcoal, pastel and watercolor
Signed, lower left:
Sheet size: 7 5/8 X 11 inches
Frame size: 15 X 18 1/2 inches
In a hand-crafted frame from Les Cadres Gault, Paris
FC10055 Price on Request

 
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