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Grégoire Nicolas Finez Exhibition
From September 20, 2025, to November 2, 2025, at the Orangerie on the Caillebotte estate (free admission).
Open every day except Mondays, including the November 1 holiday, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Born on October 30, 1884, in Saint-Saulve (near Valenciennes) and died in Menton in June 1975. His name is pronounced [fine] like many names ending in “EZ” in northern France.
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Eve in the Apple Tree
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His parents had 11 children. Grégoire-Nicolas was the ninth, and the only one to pursue an artistic career. His mother, who was poor, was the sister of the famous physicist Éleuthère Mascart; she ran a grocery store in Valenciennes and her husband grew vegetables.
In elementary school, he already showed an aptitude for drawing.
In 1897, he entered the academies of Valenciennes to study drawing and art. He achieved excellent results and received numerous commendations; in addition, he took adult classes in the evenings.
In 1901, he came first out of 175 competitors at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris: he couldn't believe it. He went on to take part in numerous competitions, which he won: between 1901 and 1905, he won 11 medals.
In 1902, he did his military service with the 127th Infantry Regiment in Valenciennes, where he exercised his artistic talent by decorating the captain's furniture and painting portraits of his family.
In 1905, he took the entrance exam for the École des Beaux-Arts, where he came first out of 250 candidates (the famous Picasso, who also took the exam that same year, failed). He studied under Maître Cormon and attended his classes for 10 years.
He subsequently obtained three state diplomas to teach drawing, which enabled him to give lessons in high schools and middle schools in Paris, allowing him to make a decent living from his art. In 1920, he became an officer of the Academy and in 1938 an officer of public instruction.
In 1905, he was accepted for the first time into the Salon des Artistes Français, where he would remain a member for many years.
During these years, at the École des Beaux-Arts, through intensive and relentless work, he won numerous prizes and medals and also attended evening classes.
In 1906, thanks to a competition held in Lille, he received a departmental scholarship to continue his studies in Paris.
He tried to win the Prix de Rome competition, but never succeeded.
In 1911, he discovered Yerres, which he liked very much, and on May 15, 1913, he bought a piece of land that he named “Le Bois Prunet” to spend his weekends there.
In 1913, he obtained a one-year travel grant and went to Italy.
From 1914 to 1918, he had to leave again, but this time “to go to war.” Mobilized, he was stationed in various cities, where he never missed an opportunity to devote himself to his art.
On June 27, 1916, he married Françoise Adrienne Planard, born on November 16, 1888, a former model, whom he always called Francine.
In 1920, he presented a very large painting, Exodus, measuring 4x6 meters, which was acquired by Baron Edmond de Rothschild for the War Museum and received an award. Unfortunately, this work disappeared without a trace during the 1939-1944 conflict (his largest painting).
After numerous exhibitions in salons, in 1948 he finally won the gold medal for two paintings: Allée Couverte[Covered Alley] and Été et Automne à Yerres[Summer and Fall in Yerres], and became “hors concours”[out of competition because outstanding merit]. Following this long-awaited award, the cities of Valenciennes and Saint-Saulve will organize a big celebration. During his career, he painted many versions of Allée Couverte[Covered Alley], but all different and executed in all seasons: the subject was very popular and sold very well.
In 1919, he bought a large house with a garden called Le Clos de la Côte des Camaldules (116 Raymond Poincaré Street) to live in Yerres permanently and set up his artist's studio.
In 1955, he and Francine bought a second home in Menton.
In 1961, the mayor of Yerres asked him to lend 14 works for the inauguration of the new town hall (the current town hall).
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Afternoon in the Park
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He made numerous donations:
- 1912 and 1966 to the city of Valenciennes;
- 1956 and 1959 to the Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs in Paris;
- 1956 to Saint-Saulve to create a museum;
- 1967 to Troyes, a series of watercolors;
- 1971–1972: Having no heirs (he had no children), he donated all his possessions, including his house in Yerres, along with his artworks and furniture, to the city of Valenciennes for philanthropic purposes, stipulating that the city should organize sales under the most lucrative conditions. The proceeds from the sales would go to students in the academies in the form of scholarships and to the social welfare office for the elderly.
He died on June 1, 1975, in Menton.
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For more information about his life, I recommend purchasing the excellent book accompanying this exhibition, which includes a significant section on Yerres.
Didier Leroy
From September 20, 2025, to November 2, 2025, at the Orangerie on the Caillebotte estate (free admission).
Open every day except Mondays, including the November 1 holiday, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Recent Publications;:
December 2024
▪ Yerres during the 1939-1945 war
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