Marcel Mettenhoven (1891 - 1979)

Born to a father of Dutch descent, a cabinetmaker, and a mother from a family of Cape Horn sailors in Brest, Marcel Mettenhoven trained in Paris, notably at the École Boulle, before interrupting his studies for family reasons.

Drafted during World War I, he was sent to the front in Champagne, where he was gassed. After the war, he devoted himself to painting and set up his studio in Paris’s 17th arrondissement.

Active in Parisian artistic circles between the wars, he gained a certain degree of fame in the 1920s and 1930s. He exhibited regularly at the Salon d’Hiver and the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, where his work was recognized. He was particularly noted for his Breton landscapes, which were appreciated by a circle of collectors.