Marcel DYF (1899-1985) 

"Claudine Dyf Reading" 

Oil on canvas, 
Signed lower right. 

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Mrs. Claudine Dyf, the painter's wife. 

This beautiful work by the painter Marcel Dyf depicts a portrait of his wife, Claudine Dyf, reading a book in an interior setting. 
The artist paid particular attention to detail in his composition: the flowers, her hair, and the gentle expression on her face. 
His wife was a source of inspiration for the artist, whom he portrayed on numerous occasions. 

From a very young age, Marcel Dyf drew and frequented the Louvre. Childhood holidays in Normandy instilled in him a lifelong love of the sea and marine skies. 
After completing his studies, his first job took him to southern Morocco. He was dazzled by the light and the landscapes and decided to dedicate his life to painting. 
In 1923, he settled in Arles in the south of France, where a difficult period began. An apprenticeship, but how exhilarating, which would shape the painter in a mythical place, welcomed and supported by many intellectual and notable friends of Arles. He notably created the mural paintings for the town halls of Saintes Maries de la Mer and Saint Martin de Crau. 
During the Second World War, he joined the resistance in the maquis. 
At the end of the war, Marcel Dyf divided his time between his Paris studio and the South of France. 

"This feat is quite rare. He possessed the reserve and elegance of a lord, and even the simplest people felt completely at ease in his presence. Often penniless, he lived in sumptuous poverty like a patron of the arts. He had such elegance and charisma that on the occasions when you did him a favor, you felt indebted to him. He was charm personified, and this almost harmed his painting. It gave the impression of such ease that it seemed superficial, whereas it was learned, demanding, rigorous, and deliberate. This is what, over the years, has become increasingly clear. And one realizes just how audacious it was." Yvan Audouard 

Starting in 1944, held three exhibitions at the Petrides Gallery in Paris, then returned to Arles, and later to Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
In 1954, in Cannes, he married Claudine and returned to settle in the Paris region, in Bois-d'Arcy, in 1959. 
His works were exhibited at the Frost and Reed Gallery in London as early as 1955. 
His talent is now recognized internationally. 

Dimensions: 55 x 46 cm unframed and 70 x 61 cm with its original 19th-century style giltwood frame. 

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