Architect and painter 1909-2009

His work

Jacques Rugani is a figurative painter; even if he often allows his inspiration and powerful creativity to modify reality, the modifications do not in any way obscure the nature of the subject and his subject is always the real world. He never painted anything abstract.

Colour, too, is his subject. His works, whether watercolours, oils or pastels, sing out with brightness and joy, the colours are full-bodied and harmonious. Very few of his paintings are dark, grey or black.

Finally he is a master of composition. An architect in his art as in his life, he constructs each work meticulously.

A medium in which Jacques Rugani excelled: watercolour. Under his brush, the work becomes translucent, light and fresh; landscapes appear in all their beauty and all their poetry; in his still-lives, in his paintings of flowers, the range of shade and colour brings out and enhances the subtle detail of the composition.

 In his oil paintings, the themes which he tackles are many and varied: landscapes, still-lives, flowers – always one of his favourite subjects, whatever the technique or medium being used – portraits, naïve or religious scenes, amongst others.

And finally a rich collection of pastels, most notably portraits, complete the opus of Jacques Rugani.