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Gaston Chaissac De dominee van Tournesac: De heer Robert Giraud | The Reverend of Tournesac: Mister Robert Giraud, approx. 1948 Sjabloondruk op papier | Stencil printing on paper 22 x 14.5 cm
Uninterested in his studies, Gaston Chaissac leaves school at a very early age and takes various jobs before becoming a cobbler, his father’s trade. Beginning his artistic work in about 1936 and marrying in 1942, he subsequently never stops painting, carving, and writing poetry. His works are characterized by a diversity of media, including pebbles, tree-trunks, planks of wood, paper, etc., on which he paints in free and spontaneous gestures. Chaissac also keeps up a substantial correspondence, with Jean Dubuffet and André Breton, among others.
Tipped off by Jean Paulhan, Jean Dubuffet discovered Gaston Chaissac’s works at the Salon des indépendants du musée d’Art Moderne in 1944. Chaissac was encouraged by Paulhan to correspond with Jean Dubuffet and the two stayed in contact until Gaston’s death.
