Jules Chadel
Expressive color woodcuts with Japanese influence
Jules Chadel is of that ilk of artist, who were first trained as artisans first. His father was a cabinetmaker, and young Jules was sent to school in Clermont-Ferrant to learn sculpture. In late 19th century France, carving wood and stone was a skill that paid the bills. And when Jules settled in Paris in 1893 to further his studies at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, stone carving provided him with steady income. Around 1903 his skills as a draftsman landed him jobs with jewelry designers. This also led him to discover Japanese arts and pushed him to learn the techniques of color woodcut with Yoshijiro Urishibara. Throughout his career Chadel seems to have moved from one skill to the next, illustrating, designing, painting… He is today remembered for handling the ink brush with expressive dexterity. Whether using just a few strokes, or a great many, Chadel was able to catch a mood, or accurately render a scene. He managed to translate this spontaneous quality in his prints. While he left rather few prints behind, each of his color woodcuts are glorious images.
Artworks by this artist
- Combat 1929
- Un coq 1920
- Jean Baptiste 1931
- Alceste 1934
- Projet d’illustration de livre 1938
- Ontwerp voor een rond juweel met stralen, met goud, saffieren en briljanten c. 1920 - c. 1930
- Le port de commerce de Douarnenez 1930
- La Cène 1937
- Pietà 1936
- La pie mouillée 1921
- Saint Dominique 1919
- Crucifixion 1932
- Weg aan een bosrand, met landlieden aan het werk 1880 - 1942
- Projet de paysage avec deux amoureux et des brebis 1937
- Mort d’Alceste 1938
- Douarnenez – entrée de la ria du Port-Rhu vu de Tréboul 1922
- Ontwerp voor een broche met saffieren c. 1920 - c. 1930
- Danseuse 1936
- Ontwerp voor juweel in de vorm van twee gestileerde bloemen, met goud en saffieren c. 1920 - c. 1930
- Héraclès et le lion de Némée 1935