THE REVELATIONS

History of Lefranc Bourgeois oil paint

For more than three centuries, Lefranc Bourgeois has been committed to working with artists with authenticity, passion and high standards, and innovating to make their creativity shine. Lefranc Bourgeois oil paint was born from the meeting between the painter Jean Siméon Chardin, one of the greatest painters of Europe in the 18th century, and his neighbour Charles Laclef, ancestor of Lefranc Bourgeois and a grocer, who, by virtue of his guild, held the right to sell the raw pigments. The friendship between the two men gave birth to the production of colours as we know it today.

The artist Olivier Masmonteil

Olivier Masmonteil is a French painter, graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. He devotes himself to oil painting with passion, requirement, enthusiasm and restraint. Painting is unique in that it imposes itself on the artist as a necessity. It requires discipline, reflection and care in exchange for which it gives space and time. In short, it is a treasure.

The Revelations, short films immersed in the master's studio, illustrate five artistic paths inspired by the great painters, in which Olivier reveals his knowledge of art history and invites everyone to reveal their creative potential.

A historical medium

Oil paint can be worked with a brush or a knife to create effects in the material. It is possible to accentuate these textures by using mediums. Depending on the degree of creativity sought, the type of medium used will allow for viscosity, dryness, transparency, smoothness, shine.... It can favour the inclusion of fillers or, on the contrary, favour thin layers, glazes. In 1954, for example, Lefranc Bourgeois invented the definitive formula for Flemish Medium, inspired by Flemish painters who were looking for a very lacquered, dense and textured finish.