Mofra Maxim

Maximilien Camille Louis Maufra (French: Maximilien Camille Louis Maufra) is a French impressionist artist. Mauphra was born in Nantes in 1861. He began writing at the age of 18. He was inspired to do this by the Nantes artists - C. and A. Leduc, and C. Le Roux (who taught him the basics of craftsmanship). But, one way or another, Mofra did not immediately follow the artistic path. He was preparing for a career as a business man and for this purpose was “sent” to study in Liverpool. However, in England he became acquainted with the creative heritage of Turner and Constable, which inspired him to further pursue painting. Mauphra returned to France in 1883. Being a businessman, he wrote in his free time from his main activity. During this period between 1894 and 1890. he discovered impressionism. He admired the work of Pissarro and Sisley, whose writing style he perceived at that time as a model for his own research. In 1890, Mofra decided to move away from commerce and devote himself entirely to painting. He leaves Nantes and goes to Brittany to Pont-Aven, where he meets P. Gauguin and P. Sérusier, A. Moret and G. Loiseau. Often working with Gauguin, Mauphra, however, never accepted the ideas of symbolism and primitivism, remaining a convinced impressionist both in theme and technique in general. However, the creative searches of Gauguin and his associates undoubtedly had a certain influence on him, because they freed his potential and ability for his own experiment. Starting from the manner of execution typical of impressionism, Mofra goes further, his technique is more aggressive, and sometimes comes close to post-impressionist, his color palette is darker and gloomier. Having moved from Pont-Aven to Paris, Mauphra was the first artist to settle in the Bateau-Lavoir, the famous Parisian hostel in Montmartre (1892). His first solo exhibition in Paris took place in 1894 at Le Barc de Toutteville. Since 1895, Mauphra was constantly represented in the exhibition of the famous gallery of P. Durand-Ruel, which in itself positioned him as a significant impressionist artist. Since settling in Paris, Mofra, however, annually visits Brittany, where he draws creative inspiration, in addition, in subsequent years he travels a lot in the south of France (1904, 1912, 1914), and in 1913 he visits Algeria. Throughout his career, Mofra strived to be independent as an artist. He absorbed someone else's ideas, but tried to interpret them in his own way, as a result of which he was able to formalize and demonstrate his individuality, balancing at the junction of impressionism and post-impressionism.