Jean Lafon French, 1886-1973

Active on the Côte d’Azur from the interwar period onwards, Jean Lafon developed a distinctive vision of the Mediterranean that balanced structure with atmosphere, favouring recognisable coastal sites rendered through a restrained, harmonised palette. The gently curving shoreline, pine-framed foreground and low, headland-like promontory projecting into calm water falls characteristic of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, particularly looking across the sheltered bays towards the peninsula’s wooded slopes. Lafon frequently used Aleppo pines as framing devices, their angled trunks and flattened canopies creating a natural repoussoir against the luminous Mediterranean surface beyond.