Galerie Paul Prouté

Frédéric Benrath, whose real name is Philippe Gérard, adopted this pseudonym at the age of 24 in reference to Benrath Castle in Düsseldorf, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and the painter Gaspard D. Friedrich. He enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulon in 1947 and then moved to Paris, where he attended classes at the Beaux-Arts for a year; he dropped out and developed his artistic vision by exploring the museums and galleries of postwar Paris. Encouraged by numerous awards—such as the Grand Prix of the City of Toulon in 1947, the Critics’ Prize in 1961, the Victor Choquet Prize in 1964, and a grant from the Ford Foundation—Benrath devoted himself to painting, exhibiting regularly in galleries in France and abroad. His painting, which remained faithful to abstraction throughout his life, nevertheless evolved from an intense, free, and expressive style toward a more controlled, increasingly understated approach, tending toward monochrome in his mature works. Associated with the “Nuage” group, Benrath explores, through his work, the suggestive power of painting, pursuing an almost obsessive quest to render light beyond the juxtaposition of colors. In 1969, the artist also became a lecturer at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning in Versailles, where he taught until his retirement in 1995.