Marcel Gatteaux
Born in 1962 in London, Marcel studied drawing and painting from an early age. After leaving Camberwell Art School, he undertook a long apprenticeship to become an oil painting restorer, graduating in 1986. Marcel’s first exhibition opened in 1997 while he continued his work restoring paintings. Marcel held an annual one-man exhibition at a gallery in Notting Hill for nine years, building a large group of collectors for his impressionist works of art. In January 2006 the gallery closed and Marcel joined the newly opened Mitchell Studio Gallery in Surrey.
He is known particularly for his images of the South of France, Greece, Italy particularly Venice, Spain, Crete and Morocco which, from very early on in his painting career, has attracted strong support.
Gatteaux’s love of the hot vibrant landscape of the Mediterranean region follows a tradition started by the early impressionists. It is his exceptional ability to recreate the colour and heat of Southern Europe, together with a clear understanding of balance and composition that has led to such a wide and enthusiastic following.
Since working with the Mitchell Studio Gallery, Marcel’s atmospheric evening scenes, fields of poppies, lavender and various blossoms in the early spring, epitomize Impressionism with a harmonious balance of colour and vibrant light. His new works are starting to create a lot of interest from his followers, and he has recently added views of Brittany and London, particularly the area around Notting Hill.
Marcel Gatteaux – Travels
Marcel Gatteaux finds inspiration in the clear blue skies of the Mediterranean. He has travelled extensively in this area searching for new subjects and to capture the heat and light associated with this part of the world. He has been travelling to France for many years, particularly to Provence and surrounding areas, and has recently extended his travels to Brittany. After he returned from Arles in 1991, the pictures he painted of that area were the first to bring him commercial success. The following year he travelled to Aix en Provence, and a year later he stayed in the inspirational Luberon Valley. Marcel returns to these areas frequently and often takes the long walk from Arles to Tarascon – a journey that has inspired many of his paintings of sunflowers and vines. The Mediterranean resort of Cassis is a place he sometimes ends his travels, he loves to paint in the vibrant light around the seashore.
He has travelled all over Italy, including Tuscany, Sicily and Umbria and has visited Venice several times, where the play of light on water, the infinite colour of the stonework and the brilliance of the architecture inspires his works of art.
Greece is a country he returns to almost every year; he loves the rugged mountains and the deep blue sea. He has visited many islands, including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades and the Eastern Aegean Islands.
Another favourite destination is Morocco. He loves to paint the lush tranquillity and sub-tropical colours of the Majorelle Gardens where the artist, Jacques Majorelle, lived in the 20th century. There are over 1,000 oil paintings by Marcel in private and public collections throughout the world.
Robert Mitchell, September 2007