Casino forcalquier

Dufy was born in Le Havre in His interest in and disposition towards painting established themselves very soon. At the age of eighteen he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts of Le Havre where he met Othon Friesz.

Initially he was influenced by the "artists of modernity". Between and he painted landscapes and genre scenes at the style of Boudin, Corot and Sisley. In he moved to Paris and enrolled in the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. There, he attended Léon Bonnat's classes and concentrated on the study of Impressionist and post-Impressionist artists.
Fame came for him at the beginning of the 20^th century. He exhibited works at the Salon des Artistes Français () and at the Salon des Indépendants ().

The year marked an initial turning-point in his work. He joined the fauvist movement constituted around Matisse. He painted decked streets and many beach scenes. His palette became brighter and his brushstroke freer.

In he abandoned Fauvism for the Cubist style. He made friends with Picasso, Derain and Léger.
In he made his first prints. He illustrated many books, notably Guillaume Apollinaire's famous Bestiaire (or Cortège d'Orphée), before working with Poiret and Bianchini-Ferrier, a silk manufacturer of Lyon.

In , in the aftermath of the war, Dufy developed a more personal style, characterised by more supple and energetic traits, and brighter colours. He also spent some time in the South of France and travelled around the Mediterranean.

He painted orchestras, seascapes and race courses, and enjoyed expressing joie de vivre and movement.
Dufy died in Forcalquier in , leaving a considerable number of works: about three thousand paintings, six thousand watercolours, four thousand large drawings, one thousand five hundred textile projects, etchings, engraved wood, ceramics and even tapestries.

Fanny Guillon-Laffaille