Claude Gaignoux was born in 1924 in Le Havre, a city where he would showcase in his work over the course of his life. Initially a lover and practitioner of music – he was part of a cello quartet – Gaignoux turned to drawing and painting following a serious health condition. He took classes at the École supérieure d’art et design in Le Havre under Gérard Desgranges and graduated in 1952.
Gaignoux’s activity mostly revolved around his hometown. He frequented the Galerie Menuisement and exhibited there regularly. In 1952, he took part in the Salon des artistes-ouvriers du Havre, the Salon de l’union havraise des arts plastiques and the Salon d’automne des artistes havrais at Jacques Hamon’s gallery.
It is fitting that Gaignoux’s artistic inclinations were strongly linked to his city, as many of his post-Impressionist landscapes depict Le Havre’s surroundings and landmarks. Gaignoux’s style was influenced by the physical and technical advances of the Impressionist movement: a white backdrop to give the colour more vibrancy, a limited colour palette, depicting water to accentuate the impression of light, complementary colours (here, blues and oranges) and gentle, emotion-baring brushstrokes to convey the fleeting temporality of the image.
Gaignoux was invested in his community and in 1964 he set up the ‘Thursday workshops’ to encourage children to learn artistic practices and techniques. Claude Gaignoux passed away in 2005 and his studio, nicknamed the ‘Saint-Michel studio’, now belongs to his son, a specialist in antique horology, who works surrounded by his father’s paintings.