Louis Toncini

Louis Toncini, born on November 30, 1907 in Marseille and died there on December 27, 2002, was a French painter.

Louis Toncini was a student at the École des beaux-arts in Marseille, where he first studied sculpture and then painting. In 1928, he exhibited at the Guibert gallery and art bookshop on the Cours Pierre-Puget in Marseille. Shortly afterwards, he took part in the young painters’ movement in Marseille and in 1931, together with Leon Cadenel, Antoine Serra, Jean Tognetti and François Diana, founded the group of proletarian painters who would later be known as the People’s Painters. He painted the world of work and dealt with urban themes: Factories, train stations, harbors, etc.

He also worked as a decorative painter, for which he was commissioned by numerous architects. In 1936, he participated (also with Antoine Serra, François Diana and Leon Cadenel) in the creation of the province’s first House of Culture, supported by Louis Aragon, André Malraux and Jean Giono.

After the Liberation, his optimistic character gained the upper hand: he painted still lifes, bouquets of flowers and landscapes. He became one of the most important figures among the painters of the Péano. After buying a house in the Hautes-Alpes, he also painted the banks of the Durance, the mountains, villages, etc.