Michel Henry materials

We have collected materials such as magazine articles and letters to Galerie Adeka by Michel Henry, a master painter who represents the second half of the 20th century. Let's shed light on Michel Henry and his works, which continue to inspire people all over the world even now in the 21st century, from various angles.

Michel Henry purchase page

1: Letter from Michel Henry to Galerie Adeka 

I am a nature painter. I love trees, fields, forests, flowers, fruits, everything. That's why I received the Agricultural Merit Award. This is an award that many people hope to receive, but it is rare for an artist to receive it. This work is a bouquet of wild flowers. It is a very simple and rustic work. Without the painter, the cork quillcot would not have been so highly awarded. Because when it is cut and put in a vase, it fades quickly. Without the painter, we would never see the cork quillcot in a vase with other flowers. Because even if the other flowers bloom for a long time, the cork quillcot will soon wilt, so it cannot be arranged together. In other words, it is the painter's magic that keeps the cork quillcot blooming without withering. The magic is the painter's imagination. Ordinary flowers survive by absorbing water from the vase, but the cork quillcot, on the other hand, has its sap flowing into the water and quickly withers. If you put a cork oak in a vase of water, it will wither and wilt surprisingly quickly. It is a mystery of nature. A cork oak is a delicate flower. The artist's magic is to give eternal life to a cork oak that will wither in an instant on a canvas.

2: Univers des Arts July & August 2013 combined issue

Michel Henry Special

At the recent exhibition of artists from Marais, Michel Henry's presence also attracted attention. Although Michel Henry is extremely modest, he always has a large presence in the art market.

Michel Henry is one of the most active figurative painters of his generation. He has been a highly valued painter who has been consistently supported by the French for 40 years. This is immediately evident when you look at the list of his collectors and patrons. His paintings have continued to fascinate the president and his wife, ministers, national dignitaries, famous actors and singers, and more. If you are invited to the beautiful living rooms of the French elite, you will see Michel Henry's paintings.

Today, Michel Henry takes part in many events, his paintings are exhibited, exported and sold. They are important items at auctions, attracting customers from Europe, America, Asia, Japan and Korea. In these countries, the master Michel Henry is cherished as a rare and outstanding painter. The clear and transparent nature of his matière (texture) is a testament to his unique talent and continues to create the eternal glory of beauty and love.

3: Univers des Arts magazine, April 2004 issue

Univers des Arts x Michel Henry Interview

Unipert des Arts magazine asks: Tell us about your paintings.

Michel Henry: For me, technique and knowledge of painting are very important. The older I get, the more I realize that talent alone is not enough. Talent only blossoms when it is backed by technique, that is, diligent practice. That's why you can't call yourself a painter after painting four or five pieces. A painting can't be done well by chance, or fail by chance. Amateur painters don't know why they did well or why they didn't, but professionals know the reason. If technique is the basis of everything, then drawing is the basis of technique. When looking at a tableau (oil painting), you should know that there is drawing, composition, and architecture under the colors. If you study great painters, you will understand that there is no painter who does not have a technique perfected through training. After completely mastering the technique, the painter's individuality is complete.

Uniperts des Arts Q: Which painter inspires you the most?

Michel Henry: My favorite painter? I prefer Vuillard to Bonnard, Stael to Klee. For me Vuillard is more vivid and straightforward. As for Stael, he starts from nature and reaches abstraction. Klee goes in the opposite direction, from abstraction to nature.

Uniperts des Arts Q: What about the Impressionists?

Michel Henry: Impressionism is too unanimously popular. Today, it seems to be self-contained, but it was only the fashion of a certain era. And yet, it seems as if French painting stopped in the century of Louis XV. Even if art reached a point of perfection in the age of Louis XV, it did not stop there.

Unipert des Arts Q: I'd like to ask you about your current inspirations. Do your inspirations change over time?

Michel Henry: My inspirations have always been the same, but they evolve. My first tableau was a bouquet of mimosas in front of a window. I painted the background from my imagination. The background I painted from my imagination was the ramparts of my hometown, Langres. I also painted a curtain.

Uniperts des Arts Q: How do you determine the originality of your paintings?

Michel Henry: For me, it was born from a fateful flaw. In other words, the flaw became its greatest charm. When I started painting, I was indifferent to valeur and only interested in color. For example, red is a muted valeur, but I thought it was a bright color, so I used it as a bright valeur. As a result, the background of the painting was bright, but I made it a muted color. Even so, it turned out to be quite a beautiful painting. For me, color takes precedence over valeur. I still remember my supervisor, Chaplin Midi, lamenting, "You were lucky enough to complete a painting ignoring valeur, but I always have to think about valeur when I paint."

Uniperts des Arts Q: Can you free yourself from the things you see and the motifs you create?

Michel Henry: Of course. Fortunately, painting is an artificial object, so it does not represent the reality we see, but rather the artist sees what lies behind that reality.

Uniperts des Arts Q: So would it be fair to say that you are blessed with an extremely rich imagination?

Michel Henry: I don't know. I learn from everything. For example, when I go for a walk, I walk while looking at my surroundings. When I start to paint a tableau, I already know what to do. Sometimes the idea is not completely solidified, but suddenly it strikes me as I go along.

Uniperts des Arts Q: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you draw quite quickly.

Michel Henry: Yes, I paint fast. There are good painters around me who paint faster. I am efficient. The speed of painting depends on the individuality of the painter. In "The Misanthrope," Molière says, "It is not the time that is spent that is good." The quality of a work is not proportional to the time spent on its creation. There are times when I am very lucky, and at those times I feel that I am exceeding my limits. I am surprised. I would say it is the magic of painting.

4: Univers des Arts magazine, September 2003 issue

A work of art is meant to be viewed by someone. It is not something to be left in a corner of the studio without being seen by anyone. For a work of art to be alive is to be seen and to be moved. Michel Henry is not an egoist. He expresses quietly and poetically what he is moved by and sees. Anyone who visits the Estelle Gallery at the Musée de Juenne in Saint-Remy will encounter a well-balanced display of Michel Henry's works. The beauty of the pure lines, the transparent and shining reds, the browns that highlight the shining parts, and the delicate and outstanding talent of the painter transform the real world into the world of Michel Henry. Cherries, Coquelicot, and Parisian landscapes are everyday objects for us and do not deserve special mention, but these objects are transformed into an elegant world of paintings by Michel Henry. Bouquets in transparent vases are often placed on windowsills, and painted with Venetian churches and Notre Dame in the background, creating a magical and beautiful world. Michel Henry's talent for the crystal clarity, the lightness of his bouquets and the strength of his architectural drawings is often praised, and this cannot be denied. It is certainly true. But we also share the artist's admiration and passion for the simple and essential things in reality. Patrice de la Perrière

6: Univers des Arts magazine, March 2001 issue

Michel Henry Special

Michel Henry's paintings have a special feel. He has created an original form of painting. The dominant color plays a major role in each painting. The base colors, such as red and blue, are singed out, and the artist drifts through the world of colors until we are satisfied. Michel Henry's natural talent is decorativeness based on a solid aesthetic. In each painting, a bobble, a vase, fruit, etc. are placed in the foreground. These familiar, familiar, and easy-to-see objects are simple, but they add color to the picture plane, become elements of the composition, and are a place where the gaze can always return after it has wandered far away.

Michel Henry's definite talent shines when he paints flowers. The flowers that Michel Henry brings to his canvases have a gentle beauty and grace. With his extraordinary skill, the flowers exude a sense of peace, transience, and a quiet gentleness. Michel Henry leads us into the world of his images. However, he does not take us too far from our everyday lives. The world that Michel Henry leads us to is a space where the air is a little clearer than the real world, the objects are lighter, and our eyes take off on a journey full of romantic adventure.

7: Univers des Arts magazine, Summer 2000 issue

Michel Henry Special

To create is to express impressions with soul through symbols and colors.

The above were the words of Michel Henry, who had just graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris shortly after the end of the war.

Influenced by the painter Gruber, all his peers were in agreement with miserabiliseme, but Michel Henry, smiling, declared his rebellion against the miserabiliseme that was the darling of the times: "Why should I be ashamed of being happy?" Michel Henry's art can be said to be a fight for happiness and cooperation. His fiery flowers, full of colour and vitality, can be said to be his banner. Moreover, the beauty of the bouquets is further enhanced by the majestic compositional skills he acquired during his study abroad at Casa Velázquez. Michel Henry's still lifes are like lessons in life and kindness, and he pours paint generously into them, enriching them with colour and matière. Rouge (red) explodes with all his might, depicting the vitality of the flowers. Ruby, vivid rose and vivid red (vermillion) dance and decorate the most beautiful city in the world. The beauty of the city seems modest compared to the vibrant flowers in full bloom. The admirer of nature, Michel Henry, pushes Paris and Venice into the background of his canvases, reminding us that human forms cannot reach even a fraction of the beauty of a Coquelicot. Here, beauty lurks close to us, in its simplest form, its most expressive and its most ephemeral. For if Michel Henry paints the overwhelming beauty of flowers, it is because he also knows their fragility. The bouquets will delight our eyes for a few more hours, and then soon wither in their transparent vases. When we look beyond the canvas, we see that sweetness and bitterness coexist in Michel Henry's paintings. It is as if we can hear Ronsard's poetry from the bouquets of Coquelicots and roses.

"Oh lovely maiden, full of fresh youth, come and pluck up the fruits of your youth, before age comes to take away your beauty like this flower."