Henri Liénard de SAINT-DELIS

Henri Liénard de Saint-Délis was the son of a cavalry officer. The family settled in Le Havre in 1885. While in high school, Henri Saint-Délis was in the same class as Othon Friesz, and the two became lifelong friends. Together, they studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre, where they were students of Charles Lullier, a former pupil of Ingres. It was there that they met Jongkind. He also met Dufy, Braque, Lecourt, and Copieux. When Dufy left for Paris, Henri de Saint-Délis followed him, but he stayed only a year. In 1900, he attended the studio of Jean Paul Laurens, visited museums, and discovered the Impressionists.

After returning to Le Havre, he led a joyful life among his artist friends until 1905, when he contracted tuberculosis and had to spend twelve years in a Swiss sanatorium. His brother René would visit him and bring back his mountain paintings to show to his former studio companions. Most of his Swiss works were destroyed during the bombing of Le Havre in 1944.

When he returned to Normandy around 1920, he left Le Havre and settled in Honfleur. It is unfortunate that nearly all his Swiss paintings were lost; based on what remains, it seems that this period was influenced by Fauvism, likely due to his friendship with Friesz. The colors are vivid, and the compositions are arranged in broad arabesques.

It was in Honfleur that he created the majority of his work: a few portraits and still lifes, but mainly landscapes depicting the coast, countryside, and harbor. He also painted a watercolor every day. His Honfleur paintings are lively and fresh, with deliberately simplified drawing.

He appears to have exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris from 1905 onward. Two solo exhibitions were held during his lifetime—one in Paris in 1945 and another in Rouen in 1948. Retrospectives took place in 1950 at the École des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre, in 1953 at the Honfleur Town Hall, in 1954 in Paris, in 1955 in London, in 1961 and 1963 in Paris, Honfleur, and Le Havre, and again in 1965 and 1971 in Honfleur.

Museums:

• Rouen: Port de Honfleur
• New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art