He was the first professional painter in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue

Installed in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue (Manche) for over 60 years, thepainter Paul-José Gosselin died, Wednesday August 13, 2025, at 90.

Graduated from the National School of Fine Arts

Pupil of theFernand Léger workshopin Paris, in the 1950s, he had graduated from theNational School of Fine Arts Before becoming a restaurateur for frescoes and murals.

“I participated in a restoration of works by Guillaume Fouace in Montfarville. I went for a walk in Saint-Vaast, it was a crush. It became my paradise, ”he said in the Channel press on July 21, 2019.

I was fascinated by the Enlightenment, which made me think of the Dutch paintings.

At the start, he came there punctually, then more and more regularly until he settles down there definitively. He was so The first professional painter installed in the town, in 1963.

” I was fascinated by lights, which made me think of the Dutch paintings. Over the years, the marina has changed the landscape but we always have a light very subtle here. We are lucky to have an island just in front of the port, it’s rare. And I think that natural charm From the landscape is one of the assets of the town, ”he explained in 2019.

Politically committed to the left

Paul-José Gosselin leaves the memory ofA man who had neither his language nor his opinions in his pocket. Politically committed lefthe had created several groups of cultural actions in the 1980s and, like a local Honoré Daumier, mocked the municipality through caricatures that he exhibited in his workshop, rue des Thins. For the latter, the artist refuted the market notion of gallery and preferred to him that of museum … with paid entrance.

Strong spirit and honest artist, Paul-José Gosselin Leave behind him a work rich in varied, religious or landscape frescoes and paintings.

After the religious ceremony organized Thursday August 21 in the church of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, the artist will be buried in the stonesin Calvados.

Of our correspondent Frédéric Sengès

With Jean-Philippe Massieu

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