Skip to content Loading
Married Life by Roger de La Fresnaye
Landscape at Ferte Soud Jouarre by Roger de La Fresnaye
Still Life, Tin of Tea and Pot of Tobacco by Roger de La Fresnaye
Still Life with Coffee Pot and Melon by Roger de La Fresnaye
White House at Audierne by Roger de La Fresnaye
Seated nude by Roger de La Fresnaye
Cows in a Meadow by Roger de La Fresnaye
Artillery by Roger de La Fresnaye
Nudes in landscape by Roger de La Fresnaye
The Factory Chimney, Meulan Landscape by Roger de La Fresnaye
Seated man by Roger de La Fresnaye
Diabolo by Roger de La Fresnaye
1885–1925 · French

Roger de La Fresnaye

Tuberculosis cut La Fresnaye's career in half. He contracted the disease while serving in the French army during the First World War, was discharged in 1918, and spent his remaining years in the south of France, gradually abandoning the Cubism that had made his name and advocating instead for traditional realism. He died in 1925, at forty.

Held in 25 museums

Portrait of Roger de La Fresnaye

Biography

He was born in Le Mans in 1885 into an aristocratic family with an ancestral chateau in Falaise. He studied at the Academie Julian, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Ranson Academy under Maurice Denis, moving from Symbolism to Cubism around 1910. He joined the Section d'Or group in 1912, exhibiting alongside Duchamp, Gleizes and Metzinger at Jacques Villon's studio.

His Cubism was always temperate. He never fully embraced the radical fragmentation of Braque and Picasso, retaining naturalistic colour and recognisable forms that helped popularise the movement without terrifying bourgeois audiences. The restraint was both a strength and a limitation: it made his work accessible, but it meant that the avant-garde moved past him before the war intervened. His colour remained lyrical and warm where analytical Cubism was grey and cerebral. He came from aristocratic stock, painted with aristocratic moderation, and died too young to see whether the moderation would have held.

Timeline

  1. 1911Painted "Still Life with Coffee Pot and Melon" aged 26.
  2. 1912Painted "The Factory Chimney, Meulan Landscape" aged 27.
  3. 1913Painted "Still Life, Tin of Tea and Pot of Tobacco" aged 28.
  4. 1913Painted "sketch for The Conquest of the Air" aged 28.
  5. 1918Painted "Smoking in the Shelter" aged 33.
  6. 1922Painted "Man with a Red Kerchief" aged 37.

Roger de La Fresnaye prints

Hand-finished archival prints from Roger de La Fresnaye's body of work.

See all Roger de La Fresnaye prints →

Plan your visit to see Roger de La Fresnaye →

Take Roger de La Fresnaye home.

See all Roger de La Fresnaye prints →

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Roger de la fresnaye artwork?
    Roger de La Fresnaye was born in Le Mans, France. One of his works is Composition with a Trumpet (Le Clairon et le tambour).
  • What is Roger de La Fresnaye's most famous work?
    Roger de La Fresnaye is associated with Cubism and the development of the Section d’Or group. However, pinpointing one single, universally recognised "most famous work" is difficult. His paintings often explored themes of modern life, portraiture, and military subjects, rendered with a personal style that combined elements of Cubism with a more traditional approach to form and composition. One of his better-known pieces is "Artillery" (1911), which depicts soldiers and horses in a style that incorporates Cubist elements. Another important work is "The Conquest of the Air" (1913), a piece that reflects the excitement around early aviation. "Man Sitting" (1914) is a celebrated portrait. These works show de La Fresnaye's exploration of form and his engagement with contemporary subjects. While no single work overshadows his entire output, these paintings are among his most recognised and discussed.
  • What should I know about Roger de La Fresnaye's prints?
    Roger de La Fresnaye (1885-1925) was a French Cubist painter and sculptor. He is less well known as a printmaker, but he did produce a small number of original prints, mainly lithographs and etchings. His prints often relate to themes and compositions found in his paintings. They display a similar interest in simplified forms, geometric structures, and a muted colour palette. La Fresnaye's style blends Cubist principles with a more traditional approach to form and space. This makes his work distinct from the more radical experiments of artists such as Picasso and Braque. Collectors may find his prints appealing due to their relative scarcity and connection to his broader artistic output. Key examples include his illustrations for Guillaume Apollinaire's collection of stories, *Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée*, published in 1919. These prints show the artist's ability to translate his Cubist-influenced style into the graphic medium. They also demonstrate his engagement with contemporary literature. While not as widely recognised as his paintings, La Fresnaye's prints offer insight into his artistic development.
  • What style or movement did Roger de La Fresnaye belong to?
    Roger de La Fresnaye is associated with Cubism; however, his relationship to the style is complex. In 1911, he exhibited with Cubist painters at the Salon des Indépendants. His 1911 painting *Le Cuirassier* was displayed with other artists who shared similar aims, such as simple volumes and limited colour. *Le Cuirassier* has stylistic links to the work of Derain. However, unlike true Cubism, La Fresnaye used simple forms to achieve a classical effect. His colour palette shifted from Gauguin-like colours to greys, browns, and muted reds. La Fresnaye viewed Cézanne as a classicist who wanted to revive a tradition lost by the Impressionists. While the Cubists saw Cézanne as an influence, some overstated the connection. Cubism's effects can be seen in art, architecture, and applied arts. La Fresnaye's connection to Cubism involved an emphasis on clear volumes, but he maintained a consciously classical approach.
  • What techniques or materials did Roger de La Fresnaye use?
    Roger de La Fresnaye's techniques involved a clearly defined sequence of steps. After drawings, the composition was outlined on the prepared canvas, and modelling was indicated, often with a reddish-brown 'sauce'. Local colour, light, and shade were laid in; this sketch was elaborated using a full range of tones laid out individually on the palette. The final stage of painting refined this process further. Some painters are so deeply impressed with the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance exhibited in art galleries that they dream of reviving the art of the masters of the past. Ever since the time of Delacroix, and certainly not without good reason, the conviction has been spreading among painters that the secret traditions of the great techniques of the Renaissance were 'mysteriously lost' about the beginning of the eighteenth century.
  • What was Roger de La Fresnaye known for?
    Roger de La Fresnaye, active in the early 20th century, is known for work that relates to Cubism, though he was not considered a Cubist in the strictest sense. In 1911, de La Fresnaye exhibited a large canvas called *Le Cuirassier* at the Salon des Indépendants. The work, based on a painting by Géricault in the Louvre, depicts a military subject, an interest of de La Fresnaye's from around 1910. Stylistically, *Le Cuirassier* relates most closely to the work of Derain. Any reference to primitive or archaic art form is less direct, and La Fresnaye uses the simple forms and expressionless faces to achieve a tasteful, consciously classical effect that is far removed from the aims of true Cubism. The work is in greys, browns and a muted russet-red; only a year earlier La Fresnaye had been painting with a palette of greens, purples, blues and crimsons. By 1912, de La Fresnaye had cautiously developed a more Cubist form of expression. In his still lifes of 1912, such as *Nature Morte aux Trois Anses*, the objects are all seen from a high, generalised viewpoint and are opened up into a background of large, flat, interlocking planes. However, de La Fresnaye refused to break completely with traditional ideas about perspective, and his work represents an elegant, somewhat decorative variant of the style.
  • When did Roger de La Fresnaye live and work?
    Roger de La Fresnaye was born in Paris on 8 December 1885. He was raised in Courbevoie and received his secondary education at the College Chaptal. Around 1900, La Fresnaye worked in his father's fabric design atelier. By 1902, he was exhibiting at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He also exhibited at the Salon d'Automne from 1903. La Fresnaye served in the military until 1905. In 1906, he founded the Association Ernest Renan. Between 1906 and 1908, he participated in the Abbaye de Créteil. Around 1909-1910, he met artists such as Le Fauconnier, Metzinger, and Delaunay in Paris. He exhibited in "room 41" at the Salon des Indépendants in 1911, an exhibition that caused a scandal because of its Cubist works. During the First World War, La Fresnaye was called into the army in 1914. Demobilised, he married Juliette Roche and visited New York in 1917. He returned to France in the spring of 1918. In later life, La Fresnaye gradually withdrew from the Paris art world. He moved permanently to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in 1937. Roger de La Fresnaye died in Avignon on 23 June 1925.
  • Where can I see Roger de La Fresnaye's work?
    You can find works by Roger de La Fresnaye in museums across Europe and North America. In the United States, these include the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (Winter Park, Florida), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach). In Canada, his work is held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In the United Kingdom, you can view his pieces at the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Manchester Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum (London), and the National Museums of Scotland Royal Museum (Edinburgh). On the continent, see the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Nancy), the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie (Roubaix), the Brangwyn Museum (Brugge, Belgium), the Clockarium Museum in Brussels, the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon), the Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco (Salamanca, Spain), and the Museu d’Art Modern (Barcelona).
  • Where was Roger de La Fresnaye from?
    Roger de La Fresnaye was French. In 1911, he exhibited a large canvas called *Le Cuirassier* at the Salon des Indépendants. The Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, now holds this work, which takes inspiration from Géricault's painting in the Louvre. During 1910, La Fresnaye explored military themes while working on illustrations for Claudel's *Tête d'Or*. Stylistically, *Le Cuirassier* bears a close relationship to Derain's work from previous years; it shares similarities with both *Baigneuses* and *The Last Supper*. However, any reference to primitive or archaic art is less direct. La Fresnaye employed simple forms and expressionless faces to achieve a tasteful, consciously classical effect, setting it apart from the aims of true Cubism. At the Salon des Indépendants, the Cubists displayed works by painters with similar aims, including La Fresnaye, Luc Albert Moreau, André Lhote, and Segonzac. Their work related to Cubism through an emphasis on simple, clearly defined volumes and a limited colour palette. *Le Cuirassier*, for instance, features greys, browns, and muted russet-red. Only a year prior, La Fresnaye had been painting with a Gauguinesque palette of greens, purples, blues, and crimsons.
  • Who did Roger de La Fresnaye influence?
    Roger de La Fresnaye's work had an impact on several artists of his time, particularly those associated with Cubism and the Section d'Or group. Although La Fresnaye did not adhere strictly to Cubist principles, his exploration of simplified forms and clear volumes influenced artists such as Luc Albert Moreau, André Lhote, and Segonzac. These artists, like La Fresnaye, adopted a style related to Cubism, emphasising simple, well-defined volumes and a limited colour palette. La Fresnaye's association with the Section d'Or, a collective of artists with Cubist interests, further facilitated the exchange of ideas. His work, while more conservative than that of Picasso and Braque, offered an elegant and decorative variation of Cubism that appealed to some artists. Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp, who were central to the Section d'Or, engaged with La Fresnaye's ideas as they sought to connect Cubism with other contemporary movements. Even as La Fresnaye later abandoned Cubism for a more classical style around 1914, his earlier explorations left their mark on those who sought a less radical form of the style.
  • Who influenced Roger de La Fresnaye?
    Roger de La Fresnaye's artistic development occurred during a period of significant stylistic change. Early on, he absorbed Impressionist ideas. Later, he moved toward a personal form of Cubism. Like many artists of his time, La Fresnaye was interested in the work of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). Cézanne's emphasis on geometric forms and his departure from traditional perspective influenced the development of Cubism. Other Post-Impressionists, such as Odilon Redon (1840-1916), also impacted artists in the generations that followed. These influences helped shape La Fresnaye's move toward a more abstract style. By 1911, he was exhibiting at the Salon des Indépendants, where he showed work alongside Cubists like Robert Delaunay, Jean Metzinger, and Albert Gleizes.
  • Who was Roger de La Fresnaye?
    Roger de La Fresnaye (1885-1925) was a French painter associated with Cubism. Although not a central figure, he exhibited with Cubist painters and adopted some of their techniques. La Fresnaye's early work showed the influence of artists such as Paul Gauguin. By 1911, however, he was exhibiting with the Cubists at the Salon des Indépendants. His painting *Le Cuirassier*, exhibited there, showed an interest in simple forms and clear volumes, similar to work by André Derain. The painting, based on Théodore Géricault, used muted colours and consciously classical forms. During this period, La Fresnaye worked on illustrations for Paul Claudel's *Tête d'Or*, which led him to explore military subjects. Although he adopted certain elements of Cubism, such as simplified forms, his work differed from that of Picasso and Braque. He aimed for a tasteful, classical effect rather than a radical restructuring of form. Other artists, such as Luc Albert Moreau, André Lhote, and Segonzac, shared La Fresnaye's modified approach to Cubism.

Sources

Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Roger de La Fresnaye.

  1. [1] book guggenheim-artoftomorrowfif1939gugg Used for: biography.
  2. [2] book guggenheim-futurismmodernfo00solo Used for: biography.
  3. [3] book Nathalia Brodskaya, The Fauves Used for: biography.
  4. [4] book Brodskai︠a︡, Natalʹi︠a︡ Valentinovna, The Fauves _ Art of Century Used for: biography.
  5. [5] book Bernard Denvir, World of Art_ Post-Impressionism_1 Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-02. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

Keep exploring

Your cart
Your cart is empty
Have an account? Log in to check out faster.
Continue shopping Continue shopping
Cart total £0.00 GBP
Product image Product information Quantity Product total