1910, Montfort-en-Chalosse (France) - 1989, Bordeaux (France)

A fragile, sensitive and asthmatic child, Raphaël Lonné left school at the age of twelve. He took on different jobs : tramway conductor, caretaker, driver and worker in a hospital. He also liked poetry and music, and composed short pieces for parties. He played in small orchestras and starts drawing figurative themes. His colleagues made fun of him and gave him the nickname of "poet." He ended up becoming a postman in a close-by small town. In the fifties he got involved in spiritualist seances and discovered his true artistic talents. Guided by his hand and in a state of trance, he drew, always from left to right and from top to bottom, as if he were writing. His drawings take us into imaginary landscapes, from which emerge ghost looking silhouettes, animals or women’s faces. He used lead pencils, oil paints, Indian ink or felt-tip pen. His works became progressively abstract as if taken over by an overwhelming motion.

SEE ALSO : Publications de la Compagnie de l’Art Brut, fascicule 1, Paris, 1964.