Native of Le Havre, this Norman may be considered as an adoptive Inhabitantof Nice. All his life, he alternated his stays between Normandy, Paris and the South of France and in particular Nice. In 1911, he married Eugénie, Emilienne Brisson, an Inhabitant of Nice, this explains his frequent stays and his affection for the region. The views of the city of Vence, of the Bay of the Angels(Baie des Anges), of Old Nice, of the Casino, of the carriages on the walk, are subjects which he renewed in every stay. In 1924, he illustrated with 101 drawings Gustave Coquiot's book, “the earth rubbed with garlic”, for which he gave numerous drawings of Nice, in particular Albert1-st gardens or Saint François place. One of his best periods of painting about Nice is situated between 1926 and 1929: he multiplied the paintings of the Bay of the Angels seen from Rauba Capeu, or subjects on the Ponchettes and roofs, seen through the windows of his flat, in a very matisse-like pictorial relation . In 1940, during the war, he took refuge in Nice, he took advantage of it to paint again the city before leaving for Perpignan. This lover of French Riviera returned permanently towards an intense luminosity which he transmuted in his paintings. In 1947, he celebrated in a painting dear to the city, the Casino of the Pier which had been demolished in 1944
Raoul Dufy died on March 23, 1953 in Forcalquier. One year later, the city of Nice offered a grave to the painter in the small cemetery of Cimiez. His widow did a very important legacy to the city of Nice in 1955 and in 1962. Therefore, the city possesses an important collection of his paintings.
Gilbert CROUÉ
