Marcel Dyf

Marcel Dyf (1899-1985), French painter, painted still-life scenes of flowers, gardens and pastoral scenes, but his true passion lay in portraiture. Noted for his portraits, his inspiration for many compositions often came from his wife Claudine who posed for him and allowed him to immortalize the spirit of womanhood. His wife, Claudine, became a frequent subject of his work.

Dyf met Claudine Godat in the summer of 1954. Aged 19, she was thirty-six years younger than Dyf and with her long fair hair, clear skin, vivacity and patience, she was what the artist felt to be his perfect model. It was simply love at first sight. There was an instant rapport between them and her arrival in his life acted as a catalyst, bringing Dyf’s art forward to the threshold of its most mature phase. They married in 1956 settled together in their main home.
Claudine brought into the life of the artist vigour and vitality and he was tirelessly painting her in all imaginable poses and situations. To watch Dyf paint was entrancing. Even as an old man, he would stand rather than sit before the easel, working with extraordinary vigour and intense concentration. His palette was a rainbow of fresh colours and his hand continually darted back and forth from the canvas.