This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
André Lhote (1885 – 1962) was a French painter, illustrator, teacher and art critic.
Early Life and Education
Lhote was born on July 5, 1885, in Bordeaux, France. He began learning wood carving and sculpture at the age of 12 when his father apprenticed him to a local furniture maker to train him as a wood sculptor. He enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux in 1898 and studied decorative sculpture until 1904.
While there, he began painting in his spare time, and he left home in 1905, moving into his studio to devote himself to painting. He was influenced by Gauguin and Cézanne and held his first one-person exhibition at the Galerie Druet in 1910, four years after he had moved to Paris.
Biography
After initially working in a Fauvist style, Lhote shifted towards Cubism and joined the Section d’Or group in 1912, exhibiting at the Salon de la Section d’Or. He was alongside some of the fathers of modern art, including Gleizes, Villon, Duchamp, Metzinger, Picabia and La Fresnaye.
The outbreak of the First World War interrupted his work. In 1917, he was discharged from the army and became one of the Cubists supported by Léonce Rosenberg. In 1918, he co-founded Nouvelle Revue Française, the art journal to which he contributed articles on art theory until 1940.
Lhote taught at the Académie Notre-Dame des Champs from 1918 to 1920 and later taught at other Paris art schools—including the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and his school, Academy André Lhote, which he founded in Montparnasse in 1922. His students included Henri Cartier-Bresson, Conrad O’Brien-ffrench, Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson, Kristin Saleri, Adamson-Eric, Simon Elwes, William Crozier, William Geissler, William Gillies, Kuno Veeber, Charlotte van Pallandt, Wesley E. Johnson, Sava Šumanović, Margaret Lefranc, Shirley Russell, Gwyneth Johnstone, Paul Kane, Julie van der Veen, Michael Wishart, Lino Spilimbergo, Amalia Nieto, Héctor Sgarbi, Tamara de Lempicka, Sarah Marindah Baker, Genevieve Pezet, Nancy van Overveldt and Helen Stewart.
Lhote lectured extensively in France and other countries, including Belgium, England, Italy, and, from the 1950s, Egypt and Brazil. In Egypt, Lhote worked with Effat Nagy on Egyptian archaeology.
Recognition
His work was rewarded with the Grand Prix National de Peinture in 1955, and the UNESCO Commission for Sculpture appointed Lhote president of the International Association of Painters, Engravers and Sculptors.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Wikipedia contributors. (2021, December 6). André Lhote. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:58, December 30, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andr%C3%A9_Lhote&oldid=1059012252
More Illustrators
Eugène Grasset | Art Nouveau Ornament, Botanical Design & Theory
Eugène Grasset, a pivotal Art Nouveau figure, combined nature-inspired ornamentation with modern functional design principles, significantly influencing decorative arts and design education by the early twentieth century.
Keep reading
Carlos Mérida: A Fusion of Modernism and Indigenous Art
Carlos Mérida, a Guatemalan artist, blended European modernism with indigenous Latin American themes, creating a unique artistic legacy celebrated for its cultural significance and innovation.
Keep reading
Ilonka Karasz: A Trailblazer in Decorative Arts and Modern Design
Ilonka Karasz was a pioneering Hungarian-American designer whose diverse contributions to textiles, furniture, and illustration significantly shaped modern design in the 20th century.
Keep reading
James Gardner: Pioneer of Exhibition Design
James “Leslie” Gardner was a notable British designer whose innovative work in exhibition and museum design significantly influenced industrial presentations, earning him numerous accolades throughout his career.
Keep reading
Edmund Dulac: Master of Golden Age Illustration
Edmund Dulac was a French-born British illustrator known for his detailed, colorful works during the Golden Age of Illustration, blending Western and Eastern artistic influences.
Keep reading
Harue Koga: Pioneer of Japanese Surrealism
Harue Koga was a groundbreaking Japanese surrealist painter whose fusion of Western art and Japanese aesthetics significantly influenced modern art, exemplified in works like “The Sea.”
Keep readingRelated Articles
Discover more from Encyclopedia of Design
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.