Jean Bazaine, 96, French artist

[R. Kane]

From:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010305/wl/obit_bazaine_1.html

Monday March 5 6:15 PM ET

French Artist, Bazaine, Dies

PARIS (AP) - French artist Jean Bazaine, known for his
paintings, mosaics and stained glass church windows, has died, his
biographer said Monday. He was 96.

The artist died Sunday evening in his studio in the Paris suburb
of Clamart after a day of work, said Jean-Pierre Greff.

One of Bazaine's best-known works was the mosaic pattern
covering the ceiling and walls of Paris' Cluny-La Sorbonne metro
station, a design splashed with pastels and incorporating the
signatures of hundreds of writers and thinkers.

Born Dec. 21, 1904, in Paris, Bazaine studied literature and
fine arts before deciding to become a painter. At the first one-man
exhibition of his work in 1932, he met leading French painter
Pierre Bonnard, who encouraged him and offered advice.

During his seven-decade career, Bazaine designed the windows of
many French churches, including Saint-Severin in Paris. He also
created mosaics for the Paris headquarters of the U.N. Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization and for the French Senate, and
wrote several books on art.

His paintings, often splashed with color, were showcased in
museums throughout Europe and the United States. He described his
work as ``non-figurative,'' but rejected the label of abstract
artist.

``What I paint is the result of an emotion that I feel when
faced with nature,'' he said.

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