Jean Chaleyé, Roses in a Blue Vase, circa 1920

JEAN CHALEYÉ (Saint-Étienne 1878 - Puy-en-Velay 1960) Roses in a blue vase. Circa 1920. Oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard. 45 x 60 cm (frame: 60 x 78 cm) Dedicated and signed on the cover: Madame Gouteyron / J. Chaleye. Inscribed on the back: Mme Gouteyron / 37 Blvd Gambetta. Jean Chaleyé was a prominent flower painter and textile designer during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Saint-Étienne, Chaleyé first studied at the École des Arts Industriels in his hometown, before winning a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, where he enrolled in the renowned "Classe de Fleurs," created to train talented floral designers for the silk industry. After three years of study in Lyon, he was awarded the Prix de Paris, allowing him to continue his training in Paris. He then attended the École des Arts Décoratifs and the École des Beaux-Arts, pursuing a dual career as an industrial designer and painter. Toward the end of his time at art school in Paris, he was recruited by the government to oversee the reform and revitalization of design in the French lace industry. He moved to Le Puy-en-Velay, a town with an established but struggling lace industry, located 80 km south of his hometown of Saint-Étienne. For forty years, Chaleyé represented the French lace industry at numerous national and international exhibitions and trade fairs. Throughout this period, he remained devoted to oil painting, primarily floral still lifes and landscapes, and he exhibited regularly in Saint-Étienne, Lyon, and Paris. The Crozatier Museum in Le Puy holds many of Chaleyé's still lifes in its collection. The name and address on the envelope are a humorous aside, as Madame Gouteyron was the original owner of this painting, which features a remarkable contrast between the deep blue and bright pink.