Le Havre – The Artists – Dufy, Jean

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

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

Jean Dufy was born in Le Havre, France on March 12, 1888 into a large family. His older brother was the well-known painter Raoul Dufy, who became a mentor throughout Jean’s career. Jean Dufy had received formal education at the “Ecole Primaire Superieure du Havre“.

Upon completing his schooling at age 16, Dufy took a job as an itinerant clerk with a French overseas import company, and later as a secretary on the transatlantic liner La Savole which traveled between Le Havre and New York City.

In 1906 Dufy visited an exhibition put on by the “Cercle de l’Art Moderne” in Le Havre, where he discovered the work of Picasso, Derain, with whom become friends years later, and Matisse, whose painting “Fenêtre ouverte à Coillourea” urged him to decide to pursue a career as a painter. In January 1914 his watercolours were presented at the Galerie Berthe Weill.

Shortly after his first exhibition, Dufy was drafted into World War I as a horse soldier. After serving in the military for two years, in 1912 the young artist moved to Paris and settle in Montmartre to participate in the Parisian art scene.

In 1920 he returned to Paris and settled in the artist quarter Montmartre, next door to Georges Braque. Braque, a friend of his brother Raoul Dufy, encouraged him to experiment with the Cubist style. Another of Raoul’s friends, Othon Friesz, exposed him to the Fauve movement. He also spent time there with Picasso, Apollinaire, and Derain, among others.

Two months after the death of his wife, Jean Dufy died on May 12, 1964, in La Boissiere in the village of Boussay.

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

NOTE: Click on any painting below for a bigger version (no new window will open).

NOTE: A black box like this one, means that there is an explanation text about today’s situation of the painting above it.
NOTE: Click on this photo icon anywhere below a painting to see a photo of what the area looks like today.

NOTE: A blue box like this one, means there is an explanation or a note.

NOTE: The “Bassin de la Manche” still exists and is the harbour part where the ferry to the United Kingdom departs/arrives.

NOTE: The Southampton Docks still exists overlooking the ferry.

TODAY: The Chaussee John Kennedy is located just next to the Muma museum and the Harbour master building.

NOTE: Although the lighthouse in the painting above has been replaced, the pier and new lighthouse are still very visible at the harbour entrance.

NOTE: Today, there are still many cruise ships coming and leaving Le Havre, at times there can be as many as 4 of them on one day.

NOTE: The “Quai Videcoq” still exists, it’s the basin where the small coastal fishing boats moore.

Jean Dufy painted in a few cities in Normandy. Here are the cities and places he painted in Normandy (a link “⇠” to his works in those cities will appear below when published):

• Brittany
  • Douarnenez
• Centre-Val de Loire
  • Bossay-sur-Claise
  • Descartes
  • Martizay
  • Preuilly-sur-Claise
• Grand Est
  • Verdun
• Normandy
  • Deauville ⇠
  • Dieppe
  • Honfleur ⇠
  • Le Havre ⇠
  • Rouen (and Surroundings)
    • La Bouille
• Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur
  • Beaulieu-sur-Mer
  • Nice
  • Saint-Tropez
  • Villefranche-sur-Mer

Here are the painters/artists who painted in Le Havre (a “*” indicates that the artist did not worked directly in Le Havre itself, instead worked closeby, a link “⇠” to the artist’s works will appear below when published):

• 🇫🇷 Adam, Edouard Marie ⇠
• 🇷🇺 Beggrov, Alexander ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Binet, George ⇠
• 🇺🇸 Boggs, Frank Myers ⇠
• 🇷🇺 Bogoliubo, Alexei ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Bonington, Richard Parkes ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Boudin, Eugene-Louis ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Braque, Georges ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Bruelle, Gaston ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Callow, William ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Cameron, David Young ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Ciceri, Eugene * ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Coignet, Jules ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Corot, Jean-Baptiste Camille ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Cotman, John Sell ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Cooke, Edward William ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Crepin, Louis-Philippe ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Cyr, Georges Albert ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Dauzats, Adrien * ⇠
• 🇫🇷 de Saint-Delis, Henri ⇠
• 🇫🇷 de Saint-Delis, Rene ⇠
• 🇳🇱 Dommersen, William ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Dubourg, Louis-Alexandre ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Dufy, Jean ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Dufy, Raoul ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Friesz, Othon ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Garneray, Ambroise Louis ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Gernez, Paul-Elie ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Goeneutte, Norbert ⇠
• 🇷🇺 Gritsenko, Nikolai ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Gudin, Theodore ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Guerard, Henri ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Guillaumin, Armand * ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Hervier, Louis ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Holland, James ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Huet, Paul ⇠
• 🇳🇱 Jongkind, Johan Barthold ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Kay, James ⇠
• 🇳🇱 Le Gray, Gustave ⇠
• 🇳🇱 Le Sidaner, Henri * ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Lebourg, Albert ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Lee-Hankey, William ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Lepoittevin, Eugene ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Leprince, Auguste-Xavier ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Letellier, Emile-Andre ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Loir, Luigi ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Loiseau, Gustave ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Luce, Maximilien ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Madelain, Gustave ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Marquet, Albert ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Maufra, Maxime ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Maze, Paul ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Monet, Claude ⇠
• 🇨🇦 Morrice, James Wilson ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Mozin, Charles-Louis ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Noel, Alexandre Jean ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Noel, Jules Achille ⇠
• 🇸🇪 Osslund, Helmer ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Pecrus, Charles Francois ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Petitjean, Edmond Marie ⇠
• 🇩🇰 Pissarro, Camille ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Pissarro, Lucien * ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Prout, Samuel * ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Robert, Hubert ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Roullet, Gaston ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Signac, Paul ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Stanfield, Clarkson Frederick ⇠
• 🇧🇪 Stevens, Alfred Emile Leopold ⇠
• 🇳🇱 Ten Cate, Siebe Johannes ⇠
• 🇳🇴 Thaulow, Fritz ⇠
• 🇫🇷 Thornley, Georges William ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Turner, Joseph Mallord William ⇠
• 🇨🇭 Vallotton, Felix ⇠
• 🇬🇧 Wadsworth, Edward ⇠

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