Raoul Dufy

Deauville – The Artists – Dufy, Raoul

This page forms part of a series of pages dedicated to the many artists who painted in Deauville. A full list of all the artists with a link to their works can be found at the bottom of this page.

Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy

Movement(s): Cubism, Fauvism, Impressionism, Modernism

Raoul Dufy (1877 – 1953) was a French Fauvist painter, brother of Jean Dufy. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events. He was also a draftsman, printmaker, book illustrator, scenic designer, a designer of furniture, and a planner of public spaces.

Raoul Dufy was born into a large family at Le Havre, in Normandy. He left school at the age of fourteen to work in a coffee-importing company. In 1895, when he was 18, he started taking evening classes in art at Le Havre’s École des Beaux-Arts (municipal art school).

The classes were taught by Charles L’Huillier, who had been, forty years earlier, a student of the French portrait-painter, Ingres. There, Dufy met Raimond Lecourt and Othon Friesz with whom he later shared a studio in Montmartre and to whom he remained a lifelong friend (he also met the de Saint-Delis brothers there, Henri de Saint-Delis and Rene de Saint-Delis). During this period, Dufy painted mostly Norman landscapes in watercolors.

In 1900, after a year of military service, Dufy won a scholarship to the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where again he crossed paths with Othon Friesz. He concentrated on improving his drawing skills. The impressionist landscape painters, such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, influenced Dufy profoundly. His first exhibition (at the Exhibition of French Artists) took place in 1901.

Introduced to Berthe Weill in 1902, Dufy showed his work in her gallery. Then he exhibited again in 1903 at the Salon des Indépendants. A boost to his confidence: the painter, Maurice Denis, bought one of his paintings. Dufy continued to paint, often in the vicinity of Le Havre, and, in particular, on the beach at Sainte-Adresse, made famous by Eugene Boudin and Claude Monet. In 1904, with his friend, Albert Marquet, he worked in Fecamp on the English Channel (La Manche).

By 1950, his hands were struck with rheumatoid arthritis and his ability to paint diminished, as he had to fasten the brush to his hand. In April he went to Boston to undergo an experimental treatment with cortisone and corticotropin, based on the work of Philip S. Hench.

It proved successful, and some of his next works were dedicated to the doctors and researchers in the United States. In 1952 he received the grand prize for painting in the 26th Venice Biennale.

Dufy died at Forcalquier, France, on 23 March 1953, of intestinal bleeding, which was a likely result of his continuous treatment. He was buried near Matisse in the Cimiez Monastery Cemetery in Cimiez, a suburb of the city of Nice.

Click here to read Raoul Dufy’s full bio on Wikipedia.

NOTE: A black box like this one, means that there is an explanation text about today’s situation of the painting above it.
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1926 - Raoul Dufy - Deauville
1926 – Raoul Dufy – Deauville
1927 - Raoul Dufy - The Yachts Basin at Deauville
1927 – Raoul Dufy – The Yachts Basin at Deauville

TODAY: This is the entrance to Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer, where the river enters the sea. On the right you see the current hotel/spa of Trouville.

1928 - Raoul Dufy - Deauville, the Horse Race Track
1928 – Raoul Dufy – Deauville, the Horse Race Track

TODAY: There still is a rather big horse race track in Deauville.

1929 - Raoul Dufy - Races at Deauville
1929 – Raoul Dufy – Races at Deauville
1929 - Raoul Dufy - The Deauville basin
1929 – Raoul Dufy – The Deauville basin
1933 - Raoul Dufy - Deauville, Drying the Sails
1933 – Raoul Dufy – Deauville, Drying the Sails
1935- Raoul Dufy - Drying the Sails
1935- Raoul Dufy – Drying the Sails
1935- Raoul Dufy - Sailboats in the Harbour of Deauville
1935- Raoul Dufy – Sailboats in the Harbour of Deauville
1935- Raoul Dufy - The Basin of Deauville
1935- Raoul Dufy – The Basin of Deauville
1937- Raoul Dufy - Race to Deauville, Decked Yachts
1937- Raoul Dufy – Race to Deauville, Decked Yachts
1949- Raoul Dufy - Before the Races, Deauville
1949- Raoul Dufy – Before the Races, Deauville
1957- Raoul Dufy - Race track at Deauville
1957- Raoul Dufy – Race track at Deauville
????- Raoul Dufy - The Beach at Deauville
????- Raoul Dufy – The Beach at Deauville

TODAY: The beach at Deauville is still a big thing, with many people flocking to the white sand beaches.

????- Raoul Dufy - The Paddock at Deauville
????- Raoul Dufy – The Paddock at Deauville
????- Raoul Dufy - The Return of Regattas
????- Raoul Dufy – The Return of Regattas
????- Raoul Dufy - The Sailboats at Deauville
????- Raoul Dufy – The Sailboats at Deauville

Raoul Dufy painted in several places in France (but notably in Normandy), the list is shown below (a link “” to the works for each city will appear below when published):

Deauville was (and still is) a popular place to paint. Here are the artists we found that worked in the city and its surroundings. When an artist’s work is published by us, we’ll show a link (“⇠“) to their works of art. A “*” indicates that the artist did NOT paint directly in Deauville, instead worked in Deauville’s surroundings.

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