CHAPELAIN-MIDY Roger

Roger Chapelain, known as Chapelain-Midy, was born on August 24, 1904 in Paris and died on April 1, 1992 in Paris. He was a French painter, lithographer, and decorator. He added the name of his mother's second husband to his own name. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and later in the academies of Montparnasse. He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1927, and from 1929 onwards at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon des Tuileries. He was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts. Passionate about the Renaissance, the paintings of Poussin, and the art of the 17th century, he defended a classical tradition characterized by moderation in an era of major upheavals in modern painting. He created still lifes and landscapes. He traveled extensively in Europe, North America, and South America. He created murals (such as at the town hall of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the foyer of the Théâtre national de Chaillot, and the Institut agronomique de Paris) as well as decorations for ocean liners, including the France. As a theater decorator and costume designer, he notably worked on Rameau's Les Indes galantes (1952) and Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Paris Opera (1955). He also illustrated works by Giraudoux, Gide, Baudelaire, Fontenelle, La Fontaine, Vildrac, and Simenon (The Window of the Rouet, 1945), among others. He illustrated the cover of Michel Mourlet's La Chanson de Maguelonne for La Table Ronde (1973). He received the Carnegie Prize in 1938. He was an official painter of the French Navy and was commissioned by General De Gaulle to paint his portrait for the Elysée Palace. Between symbolism and surrealism, a significant part of his work reflects his spiritual concerns, materialized by the recurring presence of unusual settings and objects such as checkered tiles, masks, mannequins, and mirrors. In 1984, he published a collection of memories and reflections on art titled "Comme le sable entre les doigts" with Gallimard.