Henri Sert

{{Infobox person | name = Henri Sert | image = Henri Sers.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1938|07|27}} | birth_place = La Réunion, France | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1964|03|22|1938|07|27}} | death_place = Stockholm, Sweden | other_names = | occupation = Painter | years_active = | spouse = | partner = | website = | works = The Rich and the Poor (1958)<br/>Baroque (1959)<br/>Meeting (1960)<br/>Woman lying (1964) }}

'''Henri Paul Sert''' (27 July 1938 – 22 March 1964) was a French and Swedish artist. thumb|''Vivante'', 1964 thumb|''The Rich and the Poor''

He was born in La Réunion, Madagascar. When he was 10 years old, Sert's mother brought him to Paris, where he had received his education at a Jesuit monastery.<ref name=":0">[http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/konstnarsliv-med-for-tidigt-slut/ Dagens Nyheter] Lena Eile and Hugo Lindkvist, "Konstnärsliv med för tidigt slut", DN, 2015-03-24 12:46</ref> After being left at the monastery, he would never again see any family member.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Lindkvlst|first=Hugo|date=March 24, 2015|title=Konstnärslivet med för tidigt slut|url=http://www.amells.com/media/1119/artikel_henri_sert_dn_150324.pdf|access-date=|website=Amellis}}</ref> Sert left the monastery, he then became an apprentice to a French painter called René. As soon as he thought he was competent, Sert parted with his master and tried to earn a living as a professional artist on his own. He was soon seen as a prodigy in the neighborhoods around Montparnasse.

Though known in France, "It was Expressen employee Svante Löfgren who discovered (for Sweden) the then 20-year-old painter in Paris, a young genius, a self-immolating young man who lived to paint."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Asmundsson|first=Karin|date=|title=Geniet som dog ung|url=http://www.ostrasmaland.se/nyheter/geniet-som-dog-ung/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155030/http://www.ostrasmaland.se/nyheter/geniet-som-dog-ung/|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 24, 2015|website=Ostrasmaland}}</ref> Löfgren had been initially introduced to Sert by the actor Lars Burman.<ref name=":1" /> Löfgren, writing for the Expressen in Paris, stated in his 1958 article on Sert, "He can become one of the greats of his generation. If he does not starve to death."<ref name=":1" /> In fact, Sert had become "close to starvation. He had written and asked for money, collapsed and was rescued in hospital."<ref name=":1" /> Löfgren's report on these events motivated some Swedes to write to Sert in Paris, "promis[ing] him his own studio and cash in exchange for him working together on an exhibition."<ref name=":1" />

Sert got help to get to Sweden, and the idea was that he would do a big show.<ref name=":2" /> He traveled to Sweden<ref>http://www.mondayrelations.se/monday/?pid=158 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080252/http://www.mondayrelations.se/monday/?pid=158 |date=4 March 2016 }}, "Henri Sert i uppmärksammad utställning", Monday, 2015-03-18</ref> where he had the chance to show his art at different exhibitions in Copenhagen and Oslo. Notable exhibitions included Galleri Danielsson in Borgholm, Galerie Marya in Copenhagen, the Art Association in Oslo<ref name=":3" /> and Gallery Danielsson in Borgholm.<ref name=":2" />

He first set up in Ven, "where he borrowed a studio in Emil Johansson-Thor's old farm."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Amell|first=Ulrika|date=|title=KVINNA I KOLORERAD KLÄNNING|url=http://www.amells.com/galleri/henri-sert/-kvinna-i-kolorerad-klanning/1394|access-date=|website=}}</ref> However, before his exhibition shows could be arranged and presented problems developed. Sert having little money had begun to exchange his paintings for necessities. "...He did not have enough paintings (for his exhibition), he had exchanged them for clothes, food and new colors (paints)."<ref name=":2" /> Still, the reviews were positive, "His oils shimmer like mother-of-pearl with myriads of splashes of paint and glazed brushstrokes, sometimes fine-tuned to the smallest detail with plump dot patterns", wrote Alvar Jonsson.<ref name=":2" /> "French sensation in the Art Association" wrote a Danish newspaper after the exhibition 1959 Copenhagen.<ref name=":2" /> Still, Sert was beginning to develop a problematic reputation. He was "described by contemporaries as a genius, problem child and as unreliable as the wind.".<ref name=":2" /> Throughout the difficulties his dedication to his art remained constant. He did all of his painting at night.<ref name=":2" /> He painted intensively and could sit squatting for long periods of time. The canvas lay on the floor; Sert did not use an easel.<ref name=":1" /> "The painting just flowed out of him. It was a constant flow – but still creative. He was not a pondering artist; he was a gift of nature with a creative power."<ref name=":1" /> Directly stated, the author Ivar Ahlstedt wrote that to Sert "painting was necessary, living was not very necessary".<ref name=":3" />

"During the early 1960s, Lena Eile and Henri Sert met in the confusion during the student carnival in Lund. “Henri Sert was a bit of a strange bird,” admits Lena Eile: “a short and well-dressed artist's soul, newly arrived from France.”<ref name=":1" /> Eile and Sert would become betrothed.<ref name=":1" /> The couple lived together for a time in Lund and continued their relationship when Sert moved to Stockholm.<ref name=":1" /> Eventually, personal problems would begin to harm the relationship. As Eile recalled, "I went along with things until then, but when I noticed all the stuff with drugs and everything else, then I gave up. There were constant disappointments; promises that were not kept; periods that weren’t tolerable. Living like that means a home life is difficult."<ref name=":1" />

Sert's personal issues began to also have an effect on his patrons and gallery owners. According to author Lars Widding, the patrons got tired of the young painter who had such a hard time adapting. In recent years he has painted and starved.<ref name=":2" /> Others felt it was not Sert who caused the problems with his patrons but rather the "patrons, who were to represent his art, exploited and swindled the artist instead."<ref name=":1" />

On 22 March 1964, Sert was found dead, probably due to an overdose of sleeping pills. "Lena Eile was not in Sweden when Henri Sert died, but she participated in the memorial exhibition organized at Gummeson's Gallery that year."<ref name=":1" /> "It was great, but I felt it was hard with these guys there, who pretended to be his patrons, but who took advantage of him."<ref name=":1" /> Author Lars Widding wrote, "Young artist genius died in Stockholm. Why could we not afford to let him live? "<ref>{{Cite web|last=Amells|first=Ulrika|date=|title=HENRI SERT och FOTOGRAFISKA PÄRLOR|url=http://www.amells.com/media/1051/pm_2015_henri_sert_och_fotografiska_parlor.pdf|access-date=|website=}}</ref>

Two memorial exhibitions were held in Stockholm in 1964 and in Copenhagen in 1965.<ref>Engelhardt, Carina. Henri Sert. Åmells Art Books, 2015. {{ISBN|978-91-981924-2-1}}</ref> In March 2015, an exhibition of Sert's work was held by Åmells in Stockholm.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/De_fattiga_och_de_rika.jpg The Rich and the Poor (1958)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sert, Henri}} Category:1938 births Category:1964 deaths Category:Painters from Paris Category:20th-century French painters Category:French male painters Category:20th-century Swedish painters Category:20th-century French male artists Category:Swedish male painters Category:20th-century Swedish male artists