André Favory was a french painter (1888-1937) who in his day was much admired by critics (including Louis Vauxcelles). His works were exhibited in numerous galleries in Paris and Brussels, as well as London, Amsterdam, New York and Tokyo. His artwork is conserved in various museums, including the Centre Pompidou.
André Favory final years were blighted by a crippling illness which eventually would prevent him from painting (a watercolour of Favory from Mintchine, seems to show him ailing). Favory met Mintchine when the latter decided to travel to South of France in order to discover new landscapes in 1930.
Credit: Centre Pompidou
In the letter that follows, Favory recounts in it his experience at the side of Abraham Mintchine. It has been written in 1931 following the death of Mintchine. The letter was initially published in Mintchine’s first catalogue raisonné (Massimo Di Veroli and Giovanni Testori, 1981, Ed.Giorgio Mondadori). We publish it here translated from French, online for the first time.
In memory of Mintchine
I will never forget the evening I met Mintchine for the first time. We were just about at the end of our evening meal, in the olive grove, when an agile, timidly inconsequential young man with the head of an angel appeared in the garden. This was Mintchine. He had been sent to me by Fels, who had recommended La Cadiere as a good place for painters.
The fellow-feeling between us was immediate. We arranged to meet the next day, agreeing that we should devote our time to visiting landscape themes. Our wanderings astonished Mintchine, who was seeing Provence for the first time, and he was straight away captivated by it.
The unfolding of his sensitivity showed itself romantically in the picture and watching the work develop was pure joy
We decided to work together. I was able, personally, to note the lyrical excitement which Mintchine was prey to. I watched him going about his daily work, which was quite considerable. A frantic ardour often forced him into three sessions in one day. He seemed to be deeply conscious of the fact that he was alive for but a fleeting hour.
His canvases showed tremendous progress. He assimilated the landscape in a truly marvellous fashion. On days when laziness got the better of me, I would spend whole afternoons watching him work. I liked watching him work immensely because his canvases genuinely took on the value of a birth. The unfolding of his sensitivity showed itself romantically in the picture and watching the work develop was pure joy.
He seemed to be deeply conscious of the fact that he was alive for but a fleeting hour
These daily exchanges formed the building bricks of a solid, virile friendship. I learned to know him better and love him deeply, and we became very close. We worked side by side for two months. We painted each other’s portraits. And now I am truly happy to possess a picture of myself which, hanging in my studio as it does, is as resplendent as a van Gogh. This canvas has an inestimable value for me, both artistically and sentimentally. The autumn then drove us back to Paris where we continued to see each other frequently.
The news of his death, here in Provence which he loved so much, has caused me great sorrow and heart-rending grief. The Archangel has returned to that heaven where, as so often in his pictures, he used to paint his peers, the angels. I weep for a great painter, man and friend.
André Favory