In 1978 he completed the stained glass windows of the church "Notre Dame de Bon
Voyage (Our Lady of Happy Travels)", in Port de Bouc. He was also commissioned
by the Alpine Maritime Region to paint the work, "Travaux des ChampsWork in the
Fields)".
He has held numerous exhibits in France: Grenoble, Aix en Provence, Cannes,
Marseille, Lyon, and Megeve; and overseas: Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Switzerland
and Japan (Gallery Mainichi). He currently enjoys permanent exhibits in Cannes,
Lyon, Salon-de-Provence, Grenoble, Toulon and Annecy. His impressive resume
also includes illustrations for Les Cahiers d'Art, Regards vers Ailleurs,
Empreintes (The Notebook of Art, A Look Beyond, printmaking).
He is a self-taught artist who has aligned himself with the discipline of the
"Fauvres", or savages -- a school of artists who lived at the turn of the
twentieth century, which included Matisse, Cezanne, Dufy, and Vlaminck. They
painted in vivid non-authentic color, and Emile Bellet has mastered this
discipline with an impasto knife accentuating this color with the elongated
forms of the mannerists.
The familiar female figure used throughout his work is symbolic of his
impression of femininity. She represents all women, and for this reason has no
facial expression. She is timeless and ageless, and universal.
Patrice de la Perriere, Director of the Art Revue, Univers des Arts (Universe of
the Arts) says of Bellet:
"Les femmes rouges de Bellet, evanescentes, s'exposent avec magnificence dans la
fragrance d'une lumiere d'ete. Qu'elles soient debout, pres d'une fenetre
s'ouvrant sur un paysage romantique, ou bien assises langoureusement dans un
interieurconfortable, les "femmes" de Bellet n'en finissent plus de vous
attirer dans un monde onirique" Leur presence, indiscutablement, apporte au
spectateur une reelle emotion"
"The ethereal, red women of Bellet magnificently show themselves in the
fragrance of summer light. Whether they are standing near a window opening onto
a romantic countryside, or sitting languorously in a comfortable interior,
Bellet's women never cease to draw you into a dreamlike world. Their presence,
undeniably brings a real emotion to the viewer."
Emile Bellet delights in his work, as does a peasant in a field of Provence. Both treat their labors with love and respect; and his body of work reflects this feeling.