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Front page l 
the vision of a romantic and refined world ...
Beyond the confusion
of genre paintings and values, there are painters whose romanticism is obvious
at first sight .
Your soul and heart are gently touched by a feeling
of sweet refinement.
Your eyes can discern the emotive values of the
color, the magical light of a pastel drawing, the poetic quality of intimate
scenes, the lyrical grace of a dancer, the pensive softness of a face...
The painting vibrates, and thus a soft reverie captures you. So is Jean Michel VETU's pictorial world .
Native to the North of France,
he was country bred ; except for a few stays in Paris, with a cousin - an
art student, and an uncle taking him to every museum in the capital, he
spent his youth in a tranquil village . By the time he was eight, he
was proficient at drawing and painting. His training consisted of copying
the masters or simply taking his inspiration from subjects at hand. He studied and started his professional career as an architect assistant.
He was not, in fact, ready yet to take up the uncertain life of an artist.
But deeply preoccupied with art, he finally decided to follow his cousin's
example .
His studio and gallery ...
In 1985, he entered the school of Fine Arts in Paris.
For four years, he improved his artistic knowledge of the human body from
live models. He revealed a good grasp of anatomy and a talent for lifelike
detail. His works
displayed extraordinary draftsmanship. Years later,
in 1993, he woke up to his real destiny. He met his muse and companion to
be. She brought him to realize he was a born painter and therefore had to
be a painter He broke away then from the secure circles he moved in listlessly
and quit the world of architecture to totally devote himself to his art
.At 39, he is a newly born artist . From then on, it became clear he
had to go ahead with a work which had been brewing for so long . The
artist says " Right from the start, I have been painting in my head
..."
In 1995, he settled down in Nice. Now, he was
to test his talents in the arena of art . He worked in a studio and gallery
located in the very heart of the old city. His passion for art spurred him
to work at almost pitch fever. When painting, he could, at last, bring to
light his emotions and mood. He turned out a great many
works. Alert
and keenly observant, he has wrought his great natural abilities into a
powerful and personal style - warm palette, gentle brushwork, light outlines,
delicate colors, moving pictures .
His technical virtuosity mainly
expresses itself through the use of oil and pastel , a true hyphen between
drawing and painting.
To contemplate Jean-Michel VETU's work, is to
concentrate on the eloquence of the figures moving in a cosy atmosphere
and portrayed with a poetic touch .
It is also to let oneself be seduced
by the ballet world.
Dancing ...
About the dancing world the artist says :
«
Dancing is a very demanding art ... It embodies grace and beauty, music
and poetry... on the whole a hedge against the harsh world we live in ...
Every movement, every posture is worth being immortalized through this love
tussle between painting and dancing ... »
Jean-Michel VETU
sees himself fulfilling his conviction that art is an accurate approach
of human nature combined to a meticulous artistic achievement .
Dancing
is a subject that seems ready made for him. His interest in the grace and
beauty of the human figure is revived by his observations of the dancers
. Impressed by their lithe, disciplined bodies, he makes delightful drawings
and paintings which show luminous stage sets or quiescent and fine featured
ballerinas ... Jean-Michel VETU's work bears out the academic virtuosity
inherent to the ballet world . It exudes lyricism in every detail . It creates
a romantic atmosphere which emphasizes delicate lues and a light pouring
voluptuously over the faces, the bodies and the costumes .
Jean Michel
VETU sublimates the world around him with a delicate touch. His emotional
work exclusively appeals to the eye and the heart ,and thus does not require
any intellectual comment.
The eye of the artist can see accurately
and the brush expresses a romantic vision of the world without any
formal, literary or cultural prejudice interfering between work and reality.
The balance thus obtained between what can be seen and what can
be felt, will seduce any sensitive mind in search of serene and colorful
feelings.
MOSCOW 2001
In 2001, he spent some time in Russia in order to work
out his projects to be.
In june 2001, he worked at the notoriously
cultural and musical Capella Institute in St Petersburg. The manager Vitaly
Lavrov and the master hand Vladimir Tchernouchenko gave him the opportunity
to attend every orchestra and choir rehearsal. Immersed in musical circles,
he went on sketching his impressions. His production of sketches and drawings
was the first stage of a concentrated preliminary work dealing with music.
He also frequented the famous museum The Hermitage located just opposite
the Capella Institute. As a result, he discovered in St Petersburg an artistic
life which undoubtedly encouraged his creativity and helped him to find
the clue to his works to be.
From October to December, he mainly worked
at the Bolshoi theater in Moscow. His pass allowed him to attend every ballet
and opera performed in this theatre. He also attended the dancers' rehearsals
directed by the dancing master, Michel Lavroski. Therefore the Bolshoi wings
hold no secrets for him. Gisella, The Sylphids, The Swan Lake, The Spade
Lady, Spartacus, and operas such as Aida, Boris Godounov opened his eyes
and his mind to the infinite possibilities of his art. Back to
France in late December, he started to express on the canvas the ideas and
impressions he had captured when staying in Russia
His Projects...
In 2001, he flew back to Russia where he worked in the
very famous music institution " la Capella" in Saint
Petersburg.
There he met well known musicians, world- famous conductors,
attended practices and was full of these renowned premises.
His sketches drawn from life when attending practices will be of a great
help for his next exhibition planned in Saint Petersburg
In june 2001, the director of the Bolchoi
theater welcame him.
He explained his project: an exhibition about
the most famous corps de ballet of the Bolchoi. His project was
given a favourable reception.
Jean
Michel Vetu's dream is about to come true: to paint the stars !
He will be back to Moscow next october; he will settle
down for several months in a studio located in the Tvserskaya street,
next to the Bolchoi theater.
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