"Two Figures — The Book" Drawing

Pierre Marcel Aerts (1928–) was a French figurative painter and committed colourist, whose work unfolds at the intersection of light, landscape, and the human form. Born near Liège, Belgium, he devoted his life to painting rooted in the slow rhythms of nature and the rigour of classical training.

Aerts studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Liège before moving to Reims, where he deepened his practice from 1950 to 1958. He completed his formation in Paris at the Grande Chaumière, remaining there until 1967 — absorbing the discipline of the atelier while developing a voice unmistakably his own.

His paintings draw from the landscapes of the Champagne region: wintry marshes, valleys wrapped in melancholy light, bare trees rising against turbulent skies. Working in oil with a palette knife and brush in rare combination, Aerts translated raw emotion into paint with exceptional control. His parallel body of work devoted to the nude figure reflects the same rigour — a studio discipline centred on light, volume, and bodily presence.

His debut solo exhibition, held in May 1963 at the Galerie Saint-Placide in Paris, drew immediate acclaim from critics and the public alike. Over the following decade, he received numerous distinctions and became a Sociétaire of the Artistes Français. He was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Palmes Académiques in recognition of his contribution to French artistic life.

This account is managed by the artist's estate. All works are original artworks offered by his universal legateeDinant