Charles Lapicque

The French marine painter Charles Lapicque was born on October 6, 1898 in Theizé (Département Rhône). He spent his childhood in Epinal and visited Brittany (near Paimpol) for the first time in 1900, returning every summer for many years. He learned to play piano and violin. Beginning in 1909, Lapicque lived in Paris.

During the First World War, he fought in the artillery and received the "Croix de Guerre" in 1918. In the following year, he entered the École centrale des arts et manufactures academy in Paris and completed his training as an engineer here. However, he felt strongly drawn to art and dedicated himself to it on the weekends in particular. The artist painted his first landscape in the vicinity of Caen in 1920. Charles Lapicque continued to study as an autodidact in 1928. He turned to painting, printing techniques, and sculpture.

The artist’s first individual exhibition already took place in 1929 at the Gallery Jeanne Bucher. In addition to his main job as an engineer, the artist also visited museums and antique dealers and dedicated himself to illumination, tapestry, and enamel work. In 1935, Lapicque first met Gabriel Marcel (1889 – 1973) and, as a result, Jean Wahl (1888 – 1974). The acquaintance with the two philosophers formed the beginning of the philosophical and esthetic observations by the artist.