Lou Albert-Lasardartist • painterMetz (Frankrijk) 1885-1969 Parijs

Lou Albert-Lasard was a Franco-German Expressionist painter, born in Metz, France, at that time still part of Germany. She belonged to the ‘Lost Generation’ of artists from the first half of the 20th century who were forced to work under the pressure of National Socialism. Because of their background, attitude, or artistic style, which did not fit into the fascist worldview, they risked being systematically censored, exiled, or murdered. Like many other artists of her generation, Albert-Lasard moved to Munich in 1904 for her art education. After a stay in Paris from 1912, where she received lessons from Fernand Léger, she had to leave France on the eve of the war. From 1914 to 1916, she had a relationship with the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, with whom she lived in Vienna and became part of an artistic circle that also included Paul Klee and Oskar Kokoschka. After the break with Rilke, Albert-Lasard moved to Ascona in Switzerland, where many pacifist artists found refuge. Later, she joined the avant-garde Novembergruppe of Expressionist artists in Berlin. In 1928, she settled in Paris, where she was part of the Montparnasse artists' community. Her Expressionist style gradually softened, influenced by the watercolor technique, which she mastered exceptionally well. Albert-Lasard found inspiration in her daily life, in parks, zoos, cafes, circuses, and seaside resorts in Brittany and the South of France. She traveled extensively and far, from North Africa to the Far East, including India, where she painted a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and illustrated a biography of him that was published in 1952.