Pierre Savigny De Belay French , 1890-1947

Pierre Savigny de Belay, also known as Pierre de Belay, was a French painter and printmaker whose vibrant, energetic work captured both the life of Paris and the people and landscapes of his native Brittany.

Born in Quimper in 1890, de Belay developed an early interest in painting and was encouraged by his father, an amateur artist. As a young man he was introduced to the poet Max Jacob, a close friend of the family, who became an important influence and introduced him to the artistic circles of Montmartre. During his early visits to Paris, de Belay encountered artists including Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, although he remained largely self-taught and developed a highly individual style.

After serving during the First World War, during which he was wounded at Verdun, de Belay settled permanently in Paris in 1919. His work encompassed portraits, café and theatre scenes, landscapes, maritime subjects and lively depictions of everyday life. He was particularly drawn to Brittany, returning regularly to paint fishermen, markets, ports and village scenes in places including Concarneau, Douarnenez, Audierne and Tréboul.

His strongly constructed compositions, vivid colours and expressive brushwork reveal influences from both Fauvism and Cubism, while retaining a distinctive sense of movement and observation. From the 1920s onwards he also worked as an illustrator and printmaker, and in the late 1930s developed his distinctive ‘treillisme’ technique, characterised by an interweaving of fine lines across the surface of the work.

De Belay exhibited extensively in Paris and Brittany during his lifetime, and his work is held in numerous public collections, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris and the Centre Pompidou. He died in Ostend, Belgium, in 1947.

Today, Pierre de Belay is particularly recognised for his animated depictions of Breton life and modern Paris, combining bold colour and vigorous draughtsmanship with a keen observation of contemporary life.