Georges Le Febvre 1861-1912

Georges Le Febvre was born in Berjou on October 14, 1861, and died in 1912.

He began his artistic training with drawing lessons from Xénophon Hellouin at the municipal school in Caen, where he exhibited for the first time in 1883. He later left northern France for Paris and entered the studio of painter Luc-Olivier Merson. However, he did not settle entirely in Paris, spending much of the year in Brittany, between Cancale and Saint-Malo, where he executed numerous studies characterized by clarity and vibrant color. Following the tragic death of his wife, Le Febvre returned to his native village and began painting a series of large, austere scenes imbued with sadness, mystery, and melancholy.

He gradually emerged from this depressive period with the support of his friend Georges Moteley, a landscape painter, who persuaded him to return to Paris. There, Le Febvre took classes at the Académie Julian and joined the studio of Jules Lebevre, marking the true beginning of his artistic career.

From 1896 until his death in 1912, he exhibited Norman landscapes at the Salon des Artistes Français. He was awarded a medal of merit in 1900 and a third-class medal in 1903. His short, separated brushstrokes align him with post-impressionism, a style reminiscent of his friend Henri Martin, who favored a divisionist technique and light tones.