René Marcil

René Marcil was a painter and fashion illustrator[1] from Montreal, Quebec. He spent most of his professional life in New York, Paris, London and the French Riviera. Marcil played a central role in the successful post-war launch of Christian Dior’s New Look collection in the United States.

René Marcil
BornMay 1917
DiedSeptember 1993

Early life

As a youngster, while recovering from major surgery, he collected and copied Holy Pictures, reproductions of Raphael and Piero Della Francesca. At 14, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal.

Career

Marcil’s fashion drawings are expressive and refined according to the curator of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.[2] He was the "perfect choice to reinterpret[3] Dior's vision.‘’

In 1947, Marcil's illustrations of models wearing what became known as Dior's "New Look" outfits contributed to the collection's appeal to American women. The expression "New Look" is believed to have been coined by Carmel Snow editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar.

Writer and curator Alexander Fury wrote that by 1956, the house of Dior was responsible for generating half the total French haute couture exports to the USA, and by 1958, employed 1,500 people. Time magazine reported: ‘’ (Dior) is the Atlas, holding up the entire French fashion industry.‘’[4]

Marcil moved to Paris in the mid 1950s and became part of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the lyrical abstraction movement, a movement parallel to American abstract expressionism.

He later evolved towards Neo-expressionism sometimes called the ‘’ New Fauves’’ to better meet the meaning of the term. The style is characterized by intense subjectivity and rough handling of materials.[5] His talent as a colourist became evident along with his idealization of visual perception. During his Neo-expressionist period, Marcil was influenced by the naturalist literary movement.

In the extract from Le Delarge, the editor writes :"Dessinateur de mode à New York, Paris lui fait découvrir un goût pour le néo-plasticisme, pour lequel il use de couleurs vives ; (1950-1952) . A Londres puis dans le Midi, il se dirige vers une figuration dans laquelle on retrouve des morceaux de Picasso, de Matisse et (du pamphlétaire) Corneille. A compter de 1981, son syncrétisme garde surtout l'empreinte de Picasso, fondu dans un art brut."[6]

"Fashion illustrator in New York, Paris introduced him to a taste for neoplasticism, for which he used bright colors; (1950-1952). In London, then in the South of France, he evolves towards free figurative art reflecting elements of Picasso, Matisse and (the pamphleteer) Corneille. From 1981 onwards, its syncretism kept above all the imprint of Picasso amalgamated with raw art." (free translation)

As echoed in the following excerpt from Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Paris, Art Contemporain catalogue:[7] " Dans un jaillissement du sujet, de la forme, de couleurs flamboyantes, l’oeuvre de Marcil tente de répondre à ses pairs dans un langage plus accessible aux aspirations de la nouvelle génération... Répertoire hybride qui est le sien, sa peinture décontractée s’inspire du quotidien qu’il démaquille. "

" The subject, form and flamboyant colors in Marcil’s work represent an artistic language totally in tune with the new generation’s aspirations of his time. This language was meant as a challenge to his peers... In the hybrid repertoire so typical of Marcil, a common thread is his casual painting style inspired by daily life that it unmasks. " (free translation)

Since 2019, Marcil's artwork is in the permanent collections of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.[8]

References
  1. Benezit (2010). Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199773787.
  2. MAD. Rapport d'activité (PDF). p. 32.
  3. MAD. Rapport d'activité 2018 p.93.
  4. Alexander Fury. DIOR Catwalk. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22584-6.
  5. Chilvers, Ian and John Glaves-Smith. A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art. Oxford University Press (2009), p. 503.
  6. Le Delarge. Le Delarge.
  7. Cornette de Saint Cyr. Cornette de Saint-Cyr , Art Contemporain, Lundi 17 décembre 2012. Drouot Richelieu, p. 221.
  8. Ministry of Culture (September 2019). "Bulletin Officiel n. 296" (PDF) (in French). p. 127.
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