Claville-Motteville

Albert Malet: The Schoolteacher Who Became the Guardian of Norman Light

The Seine-Maritime region has given birth to many talents, but few embody the soul and poetry of our area as intimately as Albert Malet. Born on 5 April 1912 in Bosc-le-Hard to a modest family of agricultural labourers, this man managed to harmonise two vocations throughout his life: that of imparting knowledge to the children of the Republic and that of capturing the fleeting beauty of the Normandy landscapes. Passing away in Rouen on 4 September 1986, he left behind a luminous body of work that sits perfectly within the glorious continuity of the Rouen School.

Before becoming the recognised painter whom art galleries celebrate today, Albert Malet was above all a man deeply rooted in his local area through his profession as a primary school teacher. He taught in several municipalities across our region, leaving his mark on generations of pupils in Barentin, Petit-Quevilly, Limésy, and Claville-Motteville, a village where he taught from 1947 to 1960. It was in Barentin, incidentally, that he married Christiane Mahieu on 16 April 1938. A man of science with a keen curiosity for nature, he was a member of the Society of Friends of the Natural Sciences and of the Rouen Museum. His lifelong commitment to education also earned him the honour of being made a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes académiques).

His trajectory took a decisive turn in 1931 when he began to paint under the tutelage of his master, the illustrious Robert Antoine Pinchon. The latter, a major figure in the second generation of the Rouen School, introduced him to a resolutely post-impressionist style. Under Pinchon's influence, Malet adopted a brushstroke characterised by vibrant colours, inheriting the stylistic explorations of the Fauvist painters. The first true local recognition of his talent arrived in September 1941, shortly before his mentor's death, when he exhibited at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen, a historic venue renowned for its unwavering support of Norman painters. By 1942, his talent had radiated far beyond our region: he exhibited three works at the prestigious Salon de l'école française at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Faithful to his roots, he actively participated in the exhibitions of the Society of Rouen Artists (Société des artistes rouennais). Albert Malet quickly established himself as a true master of the Seine Valley, pitching his easel at random along Norman routes to subtly capture the unique light that makes the tones of our landscapes vibrate. The art critic Gérald Schurr recalled the painter's philosophy of life and creation: "To see everything, to feel everything: the artist's work must be impetuously communicative".

Yet, Albert Malet's legacy is not restricted solely to his canvases. In a magnificent echo of his teaching vocation, he personally trained numerous landscape painters, thereby ensuring the transmission, continuity, and longevity of the Rouen School. Today, his imprint is still visible and celebrated in our daily lives. To honour his memory, streets bear his name in Barentin and at the Canada residence in Quincampoix-Fleuzy, whilst a school in Limésy and a residence from his childhood in Saint-Ouen-du-Breuil have been named in his honour. In accordance with his final wishes, the painter was laid to rest in Claville-Motteville, the Norman commune where he spent so long teaching. Albert Malet thus remains a pivotal figure in our local history, a purveyor of colours who successfully immortalised the soul of our territory.