ALBERT PATRISSE

(Fresne-sur-Escaut, 1892–1964, Malo-les-Bains)

ALBERT PATRISSE

(Fresne-sur-Escaut, 1892–1964, Malo-les-Bains)

A voice of serene art.

Born into a modest family, Albert Patrisse remained throughout his life a man of humility, guided by values of selflessness, solidarity, and integrity. He studied under Élie Raset in Valenciennes from 1906 to 1912, then under Jules Coutan at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Four years later, in Paris, he joined the studio of Félix Desruelles, becoming both his pupil and collaborator, before officially enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts the following year.

His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. He would later be made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Patrisse went on to earn wide recognition for his talent: winner of the Doublemart Prize, the Lemaire Prize, first prize in the Roux competition, and gold medals at both the Salon des Artistes Français and the Exposition Universelle. In 1922, he was awarded the second prize at the Grand Prix de Rome, a distinction that confirmed his reputation.

Albert Patrisse passed away in Malo-les-Bains on 4 September 1964, while restoring the Monument to the Naval Fusiliers in Dunkirk — a work by Félix Desruelles that had been partially destroyed in 1940.