Renée Besson "Nature morte; fleurs séchées et drapeau" (1950) Painting by Renée Besson

Renée BESSON, born in St-Claude (Jura), enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Lyon in 1927 where she studied under the direction of Georges DECOTE. In 1929-1930, she won the Prix de Paris for painting (the first woman to win this prize).
She stayed at the Fondation de la Ville de Lyon in Paris, where she was reappointed for a second period, from 1930 to 1934. There she met the sculptor Charles MACHET who made her bust. At the same time, she continued her studies at the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Paris, in the studio of André DEVAMBEZ where she frequented Jean Le MOAL, Alfred MANESSIER, Etienne MARTIN. She entered the Prix de Rome competition for painting in 1932 and then in 1933 where she was admitted to the final round for the Grand Prix. Her rendering "Suzanne and the veillards" earned her glowing reviews. Her Parisian production included still lifes, landscapes and portraits (1930s).
Back in Lyon, she married Pierre PAULIN who succeeded the painter and glassmaker J. MAYOSSON who specialized in religious decoration. With her husband, Renée BESSON composed and executed a series of murals in churches in the region from 1934 to 1947. The war having led to the scarcity of this type of commission, Pierre PAULIN, settled on Ile Barbe, turned to art lacquer. Renée BESSON designed a few decorative panels for him in the 1940s.
But it was painting that remained her primary vocation. Despite the material difficulties of an artist couple during the post-war period and the birth of her children, she continued to produce a high-quality work: easel painting on the one hand, pastels on the other. She exhibited regularly at the Salon du Printemps of the Société lyonnaise des Beaux-arts, where she was awarded a medal of honor, and which dedicated a retrospective to her in 1986. The couple was very close to Jean COUTY (who painted her as Marie), Louis CHARRAT, Charles MACHET. Renée BESSON also executed several large murals for company headquarters or public rooms, including the Paul Bocuse restaurant. During this period, she also devoted herself to landscape pastels (1940s-50s).
In 1958, Pierre PAULIN and Renée BESSON were asked to design and produce the very large set of 150m2 stained glass windows that were to adorn the new Ste-Marie-de-la-Guillotière church in Lyon. She was in charge of the projects and he was in charge of the execution. This commission then placed them in the circuit of glass artists. They worked for religious buildings, but also created around fifty stained glass windows for companies or individuals (in the Lyon region, Savoie, Provence, etc.).
After a long illness, her career was interrupted in 1984.

• Nationality: FRANCE
• Date of birth : 1906
• Artistic domains: Works by artists with a certified artist value,
• Groups: Certified Artists Contemporary French Artists