Charles MARTIN-SAUVAIGO (1881-1970)

Charles MARTIN-SAUVAIGO (1881-1970)

Born into a large family in Nice, young Charles showed a talent for drawing from an early age.

Felix Ziem, attracted by his talent and technique, took him on as a pupil in his studio.

At the age of 16, he entered the Arts-Décoratifs in Nice. Then came Paris, the Arts-Décoratifs and the Beaux-Arts in Bonnat and Merson's studio.

After obtaining his diploma as a drawing teacher from the city of Paris, he practised this profession from 1909 to 1914.

From school onwards, he collected medals and won numerous state commissions and building decorations.

After the First World War, when he was demobilised, he gave up teaching to devote himself exclusively to his art.
He developed his activity as a decorative painter.

In 1922, he was appointed official painter to the Navy.

The inter-war period was very favourable for him.
. The jury of the 1931 Colonial Exhibition gave him a major presence: he decorated the Red Cross pavilion with a diorama depicting a dispensary in the Hanoi region, as well as Martinique and West Africa.

The 1937 International Exhibition gave him the opportunity to showcase his talent in this particular field. As part of the Côte d'Azur pavilion, he produced the largest diorama he had ever made, 45 metres long and covering an area of 442 m2; this "Synthèse de la Côte d'Azur" (Synthesis of the Côte d'Azur) was the first of its kind in France.
This gigantic work, which impressed all visitors, as the press of the time testified, earned him a gold medal.

Charles-Martin Sauvaigo, or that he paints, translates into his paintings the intimate poetry of the land, the customs and the people who surround him. With an expert hand, he translates in the right way. The light of landscapes. As an artist, he renders the colours of the Maghreb with both gentleness and vibrancy.