“One day, as a teenager, I happened upon a bookstore and stopped in front of two books: one on Picasso, the other on Matisse. Lacking enough money to buy both, I bought the book on the creator of *Dance*. As I stepped out of the store, I decided I would become a painter.”
July 21, 1935
Birth of Michel Macréau in Paris.
1952
Studies at the Lycée de Sèvres, where he meets his future wife, Claudie Pessey. He collaborates with three other students on tapestry cartoons for Le Corbusier.
1953
Enters the art section of the Lycée de Sèvres and collaborates on tapestry cartoons for Le Corbusier under the direction of Pierre Baudouin.
1954-1955
Attends the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and takes drawing classes with fresco artist Lesbounit.
1955
Marries Claudie Pessey.
Birth of their first daughter, Violaine.
1957
Stays with his family in an abandoned house in Vallauris. He works with potters, experimenting with a wax drawing technique on ceramics before dipping it in enamel—a technique he particularly enjoys and which will later become significant in his graphic work.
1958
He spends two years in a castle in the Chevreuse Valley.
1960
Visit from art dealer Raymond Cordier, who selects a few works to show his collectors and offers Macréau his first exhibition. “Keep telling stories,” he advises.
After being expelled from his house, the painter moves with his family into modest housing in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he creates large works on bed linens.
1962
Macréau’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Raymond-Cordier sells out. Georges Pompidou acquires two works, including *Le Griffu*, a large painting that will remain on view at the Elysée Palace during his presidency. Macréau quickly gains attention for his originality, foreshadowing the New Figuration movement and later, Narrative Figuration (1965).
His work is followed by major collectors until 1969.
1963
Raymond Cordier closes his gallery.
Birth of Macréau’s second child, Ludovic.
Exhibits at Galerie Del Naviglio (Milan and Venice), L’Œil de Bœuf (Cérès Franco), Galerie 7, and Galerie Le Gendre (Paris).
Participates in the São Paulo Art Biennial.
1964
Participates in several exhibitions: “Figuration Narrative” (presented by Gérald Gassiot-Talabot), “Nouvelle Figuration from the School of Paris”, “Nova Figuraçao” (Rio de Janeiro), “European Painting in Japan” (organized by Jean-Clarence Lambert), and a group exhibition in Madrid.
Macréau divides his time between Paris and the countryside.
His living conditions remain precarious.
1965
Salon Réalités Nouvelles.
“Miniatures 1965″* exhibition (Galerie A).
“From General to Specific”* group exhibition (Galerie Florence Houston-Brown, Paris).
“Figuration Narrative in Contemporary Art”* presented by Gérald Gassiot-Talabot (Galerie Creuze).
“Opiniao 65″* (Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro).
1966
“Opiniao 66” (Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro).
1967
The T d’Haarlem gallery in the Netherlands presents his work.
Painter Corneille writes a text for Macréau’s solo exhibition:
“In Holland, one might see his painting as a resurgence of Cobra. Though it possesses all the verve and wild freedom of Cobra, Macréau knew nothing of it and worked fiercely as a solitary artist. Something sets him apart from the painters of that group. The characters and beasts he represents are of another essence. They are neither sweet nor naive; they are distraught. They are terrifyingly true. Look closely at Macréau’s world—this humanity exists, and he orchestrates it masterfully.”
Exhibition at Galerie 9 in Paris (with a text by Jean-Jacques Lévêque).
Birth of Macréau’s third child, Alice.
1969
Exhibitions at Galerie T (Haarlem) and Galerie 9 (Antoinette Mondon). No works are sold. Macréau’s painting begins to fall out of favor.
“This aggressive, sadistic, even blasphemous painting brings us in a liberating process through its very violence, as if the exorcism it represents for the artist came from a dark world we also share,” writes the newspaper *Le Monde*.
Nevertheless, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris acquires a work.
1970
Exhibition in Ibiza (Spain).
1971
New exhibition in Ibiza and at Galerie 9 in Paris.
1972
His wife decides to train as a psychiatric nursing student in the Paris region. They move back to Paris. Macréau begins to doubt his artistic approach and himself, seeking solace in alcohol. His depression leads to intermittent hospital stays until 1981.
“The works from this period show signs of a spiritual journey, a childlike daydream, a bitter mourning of art,” writes Jacques Martineau for La Différence editions.
1973
Participates in the “Neue Darmstädter Sezession” (Germany) and the Basel Art Fair.
1974
Exhibition *“Michel Macréau’s Graffiti”* at Galerie l’Œil de Bœuf, Paris.
Exhibition at Galerie Remarque in Trans-en-Provence.
1975
Exhibition at Galerie l’Œil de Bœuf and at Galerie T (Amsterdam) with Hockney, Segui, Velickovic, and Blake.
1979
Macréau gradually comes back to life. Caring nurses encourage him to resume painting. He meets a “spiritual master” whose words open new perspectives for him.
The emergence of younger artists such as Penck, Basquiat, and Combas helps him feel less isolated.
1983
Return to Berry.
Period of flowers and pastoral scenes.
Exhibition at Galerie l’Œil de Bœuf. Sale of a gouache to the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain.
1984
Galerie Nord-Randers (Denmark).
1985
The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris acquires a painting.
1986
Exhibition at Galerie Remarque, Trans-en-Provence.
1987
German dealer Georg Nothelfer, who had been following Macréau’s work with great interest for several years, organizes a solo exhibition at his gallery in Berlin. The event gives way to an interesting catalog featuring texts by Rikabd H. de Wiegenstein, Nothelfer, and Jean-Jacques Lévêque.
Lévêque writes:
“The delicacy of his graphic style (his cuts, his adornments, his highlights, his breaks, his flourishes) bears witness to a life lived emotionally. It is less about confronting the external world than about locking away the integrated fragments of that inner world in the twists of his memory and making them bloom in an intimate garden, where innocence is sometimes feigned but never lacking in impertinence and sauciness. There’s a touch of Queneau in this calligrapher of modern street tales. And one might think of Zazie while looking at these sweet, colorful farces that paint tragedy in the colors of everyday life out of modesty.”
Basel and Cologne Art Fairs, FIAC in Paris.
1988
Solo exhibition at Galerie Caroline-Beltz (Paris). Text by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel.
Basel and Cologne Art Fairs (Galerie Nothelfer). FIAC (Galerie Barbier-Beltz).
1989
Publication of the book “Macréau, 30 Years of Painting” by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel and Jacques Martineau, La Différence editions.
Solo exhibition at FIAC.
Macréau becomes very successful. But after a serious disagreement with his dealer, things begin to deteriorate. The artist breaks all agreements with him and, in 1991, seeks to retrieve his works from consignment.
Exhibition at Galerie Peccolo, Livorno (Italy).
1990
Participation in *“Twenty Years Later”* at Galerie Prazan-Fitoussi with Adami, Basquiat, Klasen, and Pincemin.
Exhibition “Macréau-Maryan” at Galerie Fanny Guillon-Lafaille.
Participation in “To Salute Drawing” organized by Paul Duchein at the Musée Ingres, Montauban.
Exhibitions at Galerie Remarque (Trans-en-Provence); Art Collectors SA (Geneva, José de Guimaraes, and Louis Soutter); and at the Cologne Art Fair (Galerie Georg Nothelfer).
Participation in *“The Face in Contemporary Art”* at the Musée des Jacobins in Toulouse and at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris.
1992
Dictionnaire de l’art moderne et contemporain published by Hazan editions.
Text written by Gérard Durozoi under the entry for Macréau:
“Successfully integrated into Narrative Figuration, Macréau later disappears from the market. Overlooked due to his very virulence, which seems unbearable, he can only be accepted as a precursor to a figuration that, in comparison, feels incredibly sanitized.”
*”Propos de croix”* at Galerie Messine, Paris (Macréau, Millares, Tapiès, Boix-Vives, Bissière).
Two works are acquired by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Retrospective at the Musée d’Annecy.
1994
“Portraits” by Michel Macréau at Galerie Alain Margaron.
On this occasion, the artist notes:
“The only words of mine I like are those I write in my painting, as long as they aren’t taken out of their visual context. In my case, there’s not much difference between painting and writing. I don’t know where it comes from. I’m their first spectator, and I need to take myself by surprise. Otherwise, the canvas isn’t good, and I destroy it. That’s how it is. Whatever comes out, comes out; it’s hard for me to theorize about this painting, which stands against all theories. There are symbols in it, but I don’t know their meaning. I feel compelled to make them. I also feel that they should forever escape me.”
(Interview by Françoise Monnin in Muséart).
1995
Major retrospective at the Maison de la Culture, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and the Chapelle du Bon-Pasteur in Bourges.
Death of Michel Macréau in November.
1996
Retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’Alençon. Galerie Alain Margaron.
1997
Retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’Istres, near Marseille. Galerie Alain Margaron.
1998
In November, Paul Rebeyrolle discovers Michel Macréau’s work at a collector’s home, Jean-Pierre Courcol.
1999
Exhibition from June to November at the Espace Paul Rebeyrolle in Eymoutiers.
2000
*La Vérité en peinture* at Galerie Alain Margaron, Paris.
2001
Solo exhibition at Musée Ziem in Martigues.
2003
*La Quête de résurrection* at Galerie Doris Benno, Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
2006
Grand Théâtre d’Angers.
« Renverser les barrières pour peindre » at Galerie Alain Margaron.
2007
Galerie Nicolas Deman.
2008
Galerie Nicolas Deman.
« Michel Macréau, parcours » at Galerie Alain Margaron.
2009
Galerie Nicolas Deman.
Retrospective exhibition at the Musée de la Halle Saint-Pierre, Paris. *Michel Macréau, between devil and God* at Galerie Alain Margaron.
2010
Galerie Nicolas Deman.
*Michel Macréau, 30 portraits* at Galerie Alain Margaron.
2011
Galerie Nicolas Deman.
2012
Galerie Nicolas Deman.