Albert Coste was a French painter born in Marseille in 1895. His mother, a musician, introduced him to music, which he practiced throughout his life. In 1909, he simultaneously attended classes at the Marseille School of Fine Arts and the music conservatory.
In 1916, a tram accident forced him to undergo the amputation of the index and middle fingers on his left hand. He was permanently discharged from military service, and his career as a cellist was compromised. From then on, he devoted himself more fully to painting and continued his studies in Paris at Cormon's studio.
In 1919, he married Paulette Sallé, a concert pianist whom he had met in Marseille. They lived in a studio near Porte de Versailles.
From then on, he participated in numerous group exhibitions and Salons in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, where he met Maurice Denis and frequented his studio.
In 1922, he settled near Aix while continuing to participate in major group exhibitions in Paris (Indépendants, Réalités Nouvelles, Salon d’Automne…). In 1933, in Aix-en-Provence, he held his first solo exhibition, presented by Maurice Denis.
In 1935, he was appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts in Aix-en-Provence.
In 1941-42, he met Albert Gleizes in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and remained deeply connected to him until Gleizes' death. Gleizes notably presented the exhibition of Coste's works in 1942 in Aix.
He created many decorations for public buildings, particularly the Faculty of Law in Aix, designed by architect Fernand Pouillon.
In 1953, he participated in a group exhibition alongside Gleizes, Delaunay, Villon, Herbin, and Léger. In 1967, he exhibited with Calder, Masson, and Messagier.
From 1952 to 1956, he organized exhibitions to promote the work of Gleizes and his followers.
In 1980, he was inducted into the Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters of Aix.
He was a painter with great technical skill and a man of vast culture, for whom painting, music, which he continued to practice, and poetry gave life its meaning.
Initially painting still lifes and various subjects in a style close to Gauguin and the Nabis, he later embraced abstraction, with compositions strongly resembling those of Gleizes, aligning with the general spirit of post-war French abstraction, alongside artists such as Bissière, Manessier, Lapicque, and others.
Works by Coste are held in the following museums:
- PARIS (Albert Gleizes Foundation)
- MARSEILLE (Longchamp Museum)
- ARLES (Réattu Museum)
- CARPENTRAS (City Museum)
- SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE
Bibliography: *Albert Coste, La Musique des Couleurs* by Bernard Muntaner, Paul Tacussel Publisher, 1990.
