BETTENCOURT Pierre, born in Saint-Maurice-d'Etelan, in 1917 and died in Stigny, in 2006.
After his secondary studies in Le Havre and Savoie, Pierre Bettencourt attended Paul Valéry's poetry course at the Collège de France in Paris from 1936 to 1938. During this period, he also developed a passion for the theater. In 1941, he bought a hand press and began to publish his own texts, as well as those of Henri Michaux, Antonin Artaud, Francis Ponge, Guillaume Apollinaire and Jean Dubuffet, in small print runs in his family's house, which was occupied by the Germans at the time.
Following a stay with Jean Dubuffet at Saint-Michel-de-Chaillol in 1953, he made his first high reliefs, which became his trademark. Composed of unconventional materials (coffee beans, eggshells, stones, pine cones) his assemblages stage a fantastical universe where Eros and Thanatos rub shoulders. His numerous trips to Africa, Oceania, India, Mexico and Egypt nourish his passion for vanished civilizations and in turn feed his work.
In 1963, with his wife, the author and visual artist Monique Apple, he settled in Stigny in the Yonne region, where he continued his work until 2006. He will carry on his literary work, his drawings and his high reliefs at the same time.
For a long time, Pierre Bettencourt's works remained confidential and voluntarily withdrawn from the artistic circuits, but they were notably exhibited at the Daniel Cordier gallery in Paris.
Public collections
National Center of Plastic Arts, Paris
National Museum of Modern Art - Centre Pompidou, Paris
Musée des Abattoirs, Toulouse
MAC's Grand Hornu, Belgium
Museum of Grenoble
Museum of Fine Arts, Rennes
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Saint-Etienne Métropole
Museum of contemporary art of Strasbourg
Ceres Franco Collection, Montolieu
Born in 1917 in Saint-Maurice-d'Etelan (FR)
Died in 2006 in Stigny (FR)
1936-1938
After secondary school in Le Havre and Savoie, Pierre Bettencourt attended Paul Valéry's poetry course at the Collège de France in Paris from 1936 to 1938. During this period, he discovers Proust, Rilke, Kafka and also has a passion for theater.
1941
In 1941, he bought a hand press and began to publish his own texts as well as those of Henri Michaux, Antonin Artaud, Francis Ponge, Guillaume Apollinaire and Jean Dubuffet in small print runs in his family's house, which was occupied by the Germans at the time.
1946-1947
Travels to Corsica, Algeria and the rest of Africa, by land to Nigeria, Niger, the Belgian Congo, by sea to Zanzibar, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Djibouti. Upon his return to Paris in 1947, Pierre Bettencourt met Jean Dubuffet in Henri Parisot's bookshop.
1951-1952
Travels to Oceania, including two months in Tahiti, then to India in Ceylon, Sikkim, Ellora and Adjanta.
1953
Following a stay with Jean Dubuffet in Saint-Michel-de-Chaillol in 1953, he produced his first high reliefs, which became his trademark. Composed of unconventional materials (coffee beans, eggshells, stones, pine cones) his assemblages stage a fantastical universe where Eros and Thanatos rub shoulders. His numerous trips to Africa, Oceania, India, Mexico and Egypt nourish his passion for vanished civilizations and feed his work in return.
1957
Travels to the United States and Mexico, then visits Cuba, Haiti and Martinique.
1959
Trip to Egypt where he visits the mastabas of Sakkara, the great Thebaid, Abu Simbel, Dandera, Abbydos.
1962
Visit to the temples of Angkor where he hunts butterflies. He then travels to Hong Kong, Japan, Jakarta and Bali. Marriage with Monique Apple in June 1962 with Jean Paulhan as witness.
1963-2006
In 1963, with his wife, the author and visual artist Monique Apple, he moved to Stigny in the Yonne, where he continued his work until 2006. He will carry out his literary work, his drawings and his high reliefs at the same time.