Marcelle Bergerol

Marcelle Bergerol (born Cahen)

French Figurative painter

1901 Paris -1989 Boulogne-Billancourt

Marcelle was a member of the “Atelier” of Edmond Heuzé, who was one of the leading personages of the figurative movement from the beginning of the last century. The studio of Edmond Heuzé was one of the great contributors to the “Ecole de Paris” society.

In addition to her art, Marcelle was, for many years, an active member of the “Cabinet du Dr. Beauduin” which was essentially a think tank for intellectuals, artists, and psychologists dedicated to studying the psychology of artists, with an emphasis on painters. Before joining the atelier of Edmond Heuzé, Marcelle took a year of drawing classes as part of her formation as a painter. Marcelle started to paint in her early twenties and, interestingly, before she got married she made a living painting portraits on request.

Marcelle Bergerol is also described as a regional painter, meaning that she focused her talent on a specific locality. She painted extensively in the “Quercy”, an exceptional and magical area in the southwest of France that is traversed by the Dordogne river and which is home to some of the most beautiful and charming villages as well as magnificent castles of Europe. Marcelle probably chose the Quercy for the extraordinary light and colors of the villages, landscapes, and people. More importantly, this is where she met her husband, my grandfather, while vacationing there in 1928, in the town of Souillac. He owned the family house which is still there! Although she was emotionally involved with this area and painted it extensively, Paris was where she lived all her life and some of her most beautiful paintings are then ones of Paris. She also traveled and painted extensively in Brittany near the little port city of Beg-Meil, where we used to go on vacation every summer. Beg-Meil is only 20 miles from Pont-Aven, a small known for hosting and influencing some of our greatest grandmasters, such as Gauguin and Sérusier.

She excelled at her art for more than 60 years. Her passion for beauty and real forms, from nature to humans, was a constant during this period. She loved and had a gift for showing on a canvas the real form of things. Her sense of color and her brush strokes are astonishing. When you look at a painting of Marcelle, you are transported to a world of true forms and real colors. It’s as if you are there!

As a post-impressionist painter, Marcelle’s art was influenced by great masters like Cézanne, Monet and Pissaro. She was especially attuned to the fauvist movement and the work of Albert Marquet, as color was one of the major elements of Marcelle’s creativity.

She married André Baptiste Bergerol in the late twenties, and François Bergerol, my father, was born in the mid-thirties. Marcelle kept painting with love and passion, and she dedicated her life to her family and her art. One very amusing detail: she never had a driver’s license!

Marcelle exhibited at the “Salon des Indépendants” starting in 1927 and later showed her work at the “Salon d’Automne” from 1929 to 1936, and the “Salon des Tuileries” from 1930 to 1934. She also exhibited in several prominent galleries in Paris, like the Gallery du Verseau, the Gallery Altarriba and the Gallery Armand Drouant, before and after the Second World War.

She was an active and dedicated member of the “Société des Arts en Quercy”.