1856 -1941 · Belfast, Glasgow, Paris, London and Mediterranean

Worldly portrait, outdoor light and witness gaze make John Lavery an international Irish painter between society, travel and history.

John Lavery was born in Belfast in 1856 and was orphaned at a very young age. Raised in Scotland, he worked in photography in Glasgow and took evening classes at the Haldane Academy. He continued his training in London then in Paris, notably at the Académie Julian, before joining the colony of Grez-sur-Loing. The example of Jules Bastien-Lepage encouraged him to paint outside, to clarify his palette and to observe contemporary life. His commission devoted to Queen Victoria's visit to the Glasgow International Exhibition in 1888 launched a sought-after career as a portrait painter. Lavery constantly traveled with his equipment: Tangier, Venice, Switzerland, France, the United States and Ireland renewed his work subjects. Swimming at the Lido combines worldly beach, light silhouettes and Venetian light. The artist's Workshop transforms Hazel Lavery and the children into a large family composition. Witness to the First World War and Anglo-Irish negotiations, he painted troops, wounded and Ratification of the Irish treaty. Died in 1941, he left a work where social elegance, modern mobility and political history share the same fluid touch. Died in 1941, he left a work where social elegance, modern mobility and political history share the same fluid touch. The "John Lavery" selection notably compares Baignade au Lido and L'Atelier de l'artiste. His reading favors movement.

Lavery always paints on site, whether it is a beach, a living room or a political room: the light gives the event its immediate truth.