Born in Paris on January 18 1883 Maurice Joron was a French painter. He couldn’t resist sketching his teachers from a young age. His talent was obvious. His father however wanted a more lucrative profession for him. He apprenticed Maurice to a glassmaker.
Later Maurice studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs. He then enrolled at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. He studied under Fernand Cormon. His fellow students were impressed by his skill. They nicknamed him “Franz Hals”. He didn’t enjoy the academic style though.
A wealthy woman named Madame Tavernier became his patron. She ran a literary and artistic salon in Paris. She hired a tutor for him. She took him to Florence Naples Venice and Amsterdam. He studied the works of Titian Rembrandt and Vermeer. He gained a broad cultural education. He worked with passion.
Maurice Joron exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français. He won an hors-concours medal in 1909. That year he began his career as a portraitist. He always worked from life or from the motif if landscapes or still lifes. He was a contemplative artist. He marveled at nature’s beauty. He tried to capture its truth in his paintings.
World War I broke out in 1914. Maurice was mobilized as an infantryman. He was wounded at the Battle of the Marne. After a year in hospital he was discharged. The war scenes moved him. He drew them for newspapers like Le Crapouillot and La Guerre documentée.
In 1918 Maurice married and started a family. His family inspired more intimate portraits. Art lovers sought his canvases in Paris London Belgium the Netherlands Switzerland Spain and even South Africa. The Ministry of Veterans Affairs commissioned a huge painting for the 1937 World’s Fair. It was titled Les Croisés de Saint-Louis les invalides de Louis XIV les poilus de Clemenceau. This was his last work. Exhausted by his passionate work he died after a short illness on October 4 1937. He is buried in Bry-sur-Marne cemetery.
Since 2010 an area in the Musée Adrien Mentienne in Bry-sur-Marne is dedicated to Maurice Joron. Art critic Didier Rykner compared him to portraitist Jacques-Emile Blanche. This remarkable artist left a lasting legacy. Remember Maurice Joron’s life and art.