Roger Bréval

A travelling painter of the 20th century

Roger Bréval, born on 3 May 1877 in Beauvais, was a painter whose life and work perfectly embody the spirit of the travelling painters of the early 20th century. His artistic journey, marked by insatiable curiosity and a talent for capturing the beauty of the places he visited, distinguishes him as a notable figure in the art world — and a key personality in the history of Franco-Egyptian painting, still celebrated today in Egypt.

Childhood and Training

Roger Bréval grew up in Beauvais, a city whose landscapes and scenes of daily life would influence his earliest works. From a young age he showed a strong interest in drawing and painting, which led him to enrol at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His academic training gave him solid technical skills while he developed a personal style imbued with sensitivity and poetry.

The Beauvais Period

After his studies, Bréval returned to Beauvais, where he began painting local scenes. His works from this period, often centred on streets, houses and the surrounding countryside, reveal a deep attachment to his native region. He captured with delicacy and precision the light and particular atmospheres of Beauvais, laying the foundations of a style that would marry realism and impressionism.

Journey to Egypt and Decisive Encounters

In 1905, Roger Bréval undertook a journey to Egypt, an adventure that would profoundly mark his work and his place in art history. Fascinated by desert landscapes, ancient monuments and the daily life of Egyptians, he enrolled at the Cairo School of Fine Arts, where he refined his art and formed lasting bonds with the great masters of nascent Egyptian painting.

It was in Cairo that Bréval met and worked alongside Mahmoud Said and Mohamed Naghi, two towering figures of modern Egyptian painting, recognised worldwide today. These exchanges between French and Egyptian artists made Bréval a true bridge between France and Egypt — a cultural ambassador between two artistic civilisations discovering and enriching one another at the turn of the 20th century. His role in this shared history remains vivid in Egypt's artistic memory.

Les Chimères — Founding Father

On returning to France in 1910, Roger Bréval settled once again in Beauvais. Drawing on his Egyptian experiences and his encounters with Cairo's artists, he founded the « Les Chimères » artists' group, of which he was the founding father. This collective gathered painters who shared a passion for travel and new artistic perspectives, bringing into French regional painting the spirit of openness and curiosity that had defined his time in the Orient.

Roger Bréval spent the last years of his life at Rainvillers, near Beauvais, where he continued to paint until his death in 1946. His body of work — over a hundred paintings, sketches and pastels — bears witness to a life entirely devoted to art and the dialogue between cultures.