The Life and Vision of Henry Valensi

Born in Algiers, Algeria, Henry Valensi began his artistic journey by painting the landscapes of his birthplace. Following his family's move to the 9th arrondissement of Paris in 1899, his passion for painting was encouraged. In 1902, under the advice of Léon Bonnat, he joined the Académie Julian to study under Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury. After presenting his first exhibition at the Salon des Orientalistes in 1905, Valensi became a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants from 1908 onwards. His travels took him across Europe, around the Mediterranean, and into Russia, where his landscapes began to incorporate abstract elements following a voyage to Greece in 1909.

Valensi was a multifaceted creator, working as a painter, animator, film director, and art theoretician. He was a central figure in the avant-garde, participating in the organization of the Salon de la Section d'Or in 1912 alongside figures such as Marcel Duchamp and Jean Metzinger. He also founded the musicalism movement and the Association des artistes musicalistes in 1932.

Musicalism and Cinépeinture

Valensi’s theoretical work explored the relationship between art and materiality, proposing a concept he called "Art-Un." He believed that music was the art most capable of expressing the nuances of the human soul in the 20th century, viewing sound and color as vibrations of matter. This philosophy led to the development of "musicalism," where artists used color, line, and shape subjectively to create a "music" of color on the canvas. He often named his works after musical forms, such as preludes, fugues, or symphonies.

This pursuit of movement led Valensi to develop cinépeinture, or film-painting. His most significant achievement in this medium was La Symphonie printanière (Spring Symphony), an abstract animated film. He began producing this work in 1936, utilizing Pathé cameras and projectors to paint scenes onto celluloid in oils. The film, which he completed in 1959, consists of five parts—a prelude, three movements, and a finale—and was based on a painting he produced in 1932.