Louis Bissinger (1899-1978)
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Louis Bissinger (1899-1978)

Louis Bissinger was born in Lyon on April 24, 1899. He studied cello at the Lyon Conservatory of Music, which he entered in 1914, before turning to painting.


It was in 1923 after his marriage to Yvette that he started painting. The couple funded the initial painting years by playing music in the bars of Lyon. He painted mostly landscapes and still lifes.


Later, the painter regularly used the pseudonym "Régis Bérard" to sign his paintings to avoid being traced as he was an active member of the French Resistance. In 1943, he was arrested and deported to the Buchenwald camp where he remained until May 1945. During his time there he met and befriended fellow artists Edmond Michelet and Marcel Paul, who after the war both became ministers. At the camp he produced numerous watercolor drawings on old cardboard and pieces of wood, mainly showing views of the camp. On his return, he exhibited his works on the Buchenwald camp. After the war, he continued his artistic career by settling in Morestel, in Isère, often called the city of artists.


He often stayed in Paris where he met with his old friends from the camp. The French State/The Army Museum bought a number of his paintings in 1957.


Edmond Michelet, his long term friend from the camp became a guardian/keeper of the seals in 1961, sponsoring each of his exhibitions and the paintings of Louis Bissinger adorned a number of Paris showrooms/exhibitions. Louis died in 1978.




Antique & Vintage art from France
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