André Lhote : l'art de la controverse

Book signing at Librairie Lardanchet as part of MaSH on Monday 19 October 2026, from 5 pm to 9 pm

A painter, art theorist and teacher, André Lhote (1885–1962) from Bordeaux never ceased to combine artistic creation with writing, sparking fierce controversy for his refusal to choose between the two. A singular figure in Cubism, he remained on the fringes of the dominant trajectories of Picasso and Braque. His collaboration with *La Nouvelle Revue Française* (NRF), for which he became the official art critic in 1919, bears witness to his dual intellectual rigour, shared by Jacques Rivière and later Jean Paulhan.

The motif of the port of Bordeaux, with its industrious bustle, inspired him to produce a wide range of interpretations, ranging from effervescent Fauvism to constructive Cubism. Highly active in the 1920s and 1930s, he regularly exhibited portraits, nudes and landscapes at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne, and took part in major exhibitions in Paris and abroad. In 1937, he was among the artists commissioned by the Popular Front for the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques. In the 1950s, his travels to Egypt and then Brazil reinforced his Cézanne-inspired exploration of the architecture of the artwork. His work was recognised by the major retrospective organised for him in Paris in 1958 by the Musée National d’Art Moderne.

This richly illustrated book highlights the prominent place Lhote occupies within Cubism, whilst at the same time affirming his independent trajectory within modern art.