Indian people enjoyed my vision of France: 90-year-old artist

Renowned French artist Henri Landier, aged 90, said he was deeply honoured by representing France in India for the first time.

Landier’s painting exhibition at Alliance Française de Delhi commenced on July 20 and will conclude on August 19. Titled ‘Douce France’, it is an exquisite and unique exhibition showcasing more than 90 original works of the artist.

“Stéphane Amalir, the director of the Alliance Française of New Delhi asked me to present this exhibition in New Delhi. It is an honour for me to represent France in India for the first time,” Landier told Patriot in an exclusive interview.

“The Alliance Française is a fantastic network. Its aim is not only to spread the French language and culture but also to promote dialogue between all cultures. Alliance Française de Delhi, under the direction of Stéphane, has done a tremendous job to help the Indian people understand French culture, and vice versa,” he shared.

When asked about the Indian art lovers, the artist said, “For me, it is a new world. I hope they are curious and they like France. The cultural dialogue between French and Indian artists started in the 60s with many Indian artists going to France.” Landier described ‘Douce France’ as a personal pilgrimage for him.

“I wanted to do it before the end of my life. I wanted to travel once more through this great country that I love. The title ‘Douce France’ comes from a song by Charles Trenet, which is also a tribute to this beautiful country,” he said.

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Regarding his creative process, Landier explained, “I start by making many sketches and think about the composition a lot. When I have it in mind, I start painting and I do not take much time. Once it is in my mind, I can make a painting in one or two days but for a whole series, it can take months or a few years,” he said.

He said that he decided to work on ‘Douce France’ in 1998. “I started as usual by making plenty of drawings but I turned them into paintings.

“I made a lot of paintings on travels till 2022 to places in France I like and then I exhibited them in Paris recently,” he said.

He said his art has evolved from a tragic vision of life to a more serene mindset.

“I do not paint the way I used to in the 1950s and I would not be able to reproduce the paintings I made a few decades ago. When I was young, I used to put many layers of paint on the canvas to create a very dense atmosphere, but now I think the lighter the better. I do not use palette knives anymore either. Nowadays, I mostly use watercolours and I use bright colours. The older I get, the more joyful my works are,” he remarked.

When asked about the challenges he faced while showcasing France in the exhibition, he said, “For me, it was a pleasure to paint my country and to show the beauty and the diversity of landscapes of different regions of France. Lots of people called my work the paintings of a young man with energy and colours.”

He called France, the country of love.

“I hope Indian people enjoyed my vision of France with a lot of life, beauty, harmony, and softness. It is also a world I like, a world I want to be preserved. But at the same time, I would like to convince people that France is the country of love, of great literature, of new trends, and also a country of modernity, innovation, and future,” he said.

Landier said he loves to paint things wherever he goes.

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“I am almost always working. I take my sketchbook with me anywhere I go, even if I go to a show or on holidays. There is always a person, a landscape, a situation that I feel like drawing. Even when I go to dinner, I might make portraits of the guests,” he said.

“I do have a second passion though, which is reading. There must be at least 2,000 books in my library. I read books about philosophy, psychology, education, art, and history. One of my favourites is the compilation of the letters by artist Vincent Van Gogh which he sent to his brother Théo Van Gogh. It is an amazing testimony, and I have read that probably five times already,” he added.