Raoul Dufy renowned for his colourful paintings - primarily of the South of France. His name has come to the attention of the public via prints and postcards of these wonderfully vibrant and exotic locations. The image of Dufy is synonymous with simplicity and vivacity.

But Dufy was in fact a skilled and accomplished decorative artist too. The rich colour palette that he used so successfully in his paintings was transplanted into tissus (fabric) and dress design. Unusually for Dufy, he also designed an extensive monochrome range - one example in this video depicting lawn tennis of the 20s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXoE8t4DQJ8

Raoul Dufy was also a talented ceramicist - many of the figures from his paintings were replicated on jars and bowls and are instantly recognisable. Interestingly, the colours, form and shape are reminiscent of the style being used by Bloomsbury whose most prolific period coincides with that of Dufy. Obviously many influences were moving around Europe at that time.

Lastly, perhaps, least well known Dufy was also a graphic artist and his work was used in the rapidly growing market of advertising - primarily for the French nationalised industries such as electricity. His colourful lithographs depicting the great men of their day - Stephenson, Franklin, Goethe.

Dufy - le peinture decorateur.