Le Bateau Bleu (The Blue Boat), Debiève Original, 1965

Born in 1931, Raymond Debiève’s lifetime spans across artistic trends such as art deco, cubism, abstraction, and follows techniques by Picasso, Van Gogh, Velasquez, and bold Flemish painters. As such, he was never afraid to experiment with style or medium, nor to examine an eclectic blend of subject matter from portraits to interior scenes, landscapes to daily snapshots of life. 

Debiève’s style, in turn, is at once sharp, critical, highly amused by the world, and frustrated—an ever-revolving lens crafted during the fragile reconstruction of a country flattened by war, and a lifetime observing the humanity involved in repairing what was so brutally destroyed.

I came across our own collection of original pieces completely by chance in September, 2022, at a brocante in Provence. Delicate, playful, moody, and wondrous, these pieces of artwork are beautifully rendered in watercolor, gouache, and pastels, crossing mediums and subject matter to yield a unique collection ready for the home of any art savant.