Marceau Gattaz French, 1901-1993

Marceau Gattaz was a French painter associated with the Dauphiné region of southeastern France. Born in 1901 near Voiron in Isère, he worked as a schoolteacher while pursuing his passion for painting.

From around 1931, Gattaz devoted himself increasingly to painting and travelled regularly to Lyon to study with artists of the Lyon school. He remained an essentially self-directed painter, developing a style influenced by the work of Auguste Ravier and Victor Charreton, whose atmospheric approach to landscape he greatly admired.

Gattaz was principally a landscape painter, finding his subjects in the countryside of Dauphiné and the French Alps. His paintings include snow-covered villages, orchards, rivers, ponds and mountain landscapes, often characterised by a sensitive treatment of light and colour. Works such as Paysage de neige en Dauphiné, Hiver au Ménier and views around Meyrieu-les-Étangs reflect his close connection with the local landscape.

A member of the Société des Amis des Arts from 1939, Gattaz exhibited in regional salons and received several awards during his career. His work remains particularly associated with the artistic heritage of the Dauphiné, and examples are held in the collections of the Musée de Bourgoin-Jallieu.

Marceau Gattaz died in 1993, aged 92.