Mother and Child (c. 1945)

Technical information

• Title : Mother and Child
• Date : c. 1945
• Technique : Oil on canvas
• Dimensions : 33 × 55 cm
• Location : Private collection

Biographical / historical context

Placed around 1945, this work belongs to a turning point: the end of the war opened a time of reconfiguration, and Breuillaud at moments explored a more symbolic, more synthetic vein in which the human figure acquires narrative value.

The theme of mother and child, treated here within a collective scene, can be understood as an image of protection and survival. Without being explicitly narrative, the composition suggests a march, a displacement, and situates the figures within an almost timeless temporality.

Formal / stylistic description

The scene unfolds like a frieze against a brick-red ground, with stylised figures moving from left to right. Bodies are simplified into angular forms with dark volumes, set against a seated figure holding a child on the right, which introduces a more intimate counterpoint.

Drawing, emphasised by marked contours, dominates the representation: it structures the procession and creates a tension between flat areas and modelling. Colour operates in broad zones—reds, browns, greens—producing a dense, almost mural atmosphere in which space is deliberately flattened.

Comparative analysis / related works

This composition stands apart from the naturalistic landscapes of the same period through its synthetic character. Within Breuillaud’s corpus it aligns with works in which the subject is reduced to essentials and treated as a decorative or allegorical motif, organised in a horizontal band.

It can be related to other figure scenes where the artist privileges the legibility of silhouettes and the rhythm of masses over depth. The uniform background and simplified faces reinforce the sense of a condensed narrative carried by collective movement.

Justification of dating and attribution

A dating around 1945 is plausible in view of the freedom of handling, the taste for flat colour, and the simplification of forms, which signal a moment of experimentation after the years of constraint. The frank oppositions and the “mural” character of the scene fit a practice seeking direct expressiveness.

The attribution to André Breuillaud is based on his way of structuring the surface through blocks of colour, the nervous drawing of silhouettes, and the balance between stylisation and the warmth of the palette characteristic of his figurative compositions.

Provenance / exhibitions / publications

Private collection. Provenance, exhibition, and publication information: not communicated to date.