Jean Launois

The Curator of the Museum, Léonce Bénédite, received permission from the Undersecretary of Arts to purchase 12 of Launois’ drawings for 500 French francs.

Later Bénédite purchased additional pictures from Launois and encouraged him to compete for the Algerian Scholarship (Bourse de l’Algerie).

He trekked by foot, horseback, and boat across the Indo-Chinese peninsula, drifted down the Mekong River on the private raft of a Laotian prince, and traveled roundtrip from Hanoi to China by railroad.

During his travels, Launois documented his experiences with drawings and sketches that included the indigenous people of the forest and life in the villages and bars.

While his artistic success continued, his marriage was strained by his independent and free personal life, heavy drinking, and association with the underworld of Paris.

Although living from hand-to-mouth, Launois continued to travel from Paris to North Africa during the winter, and in the summer to Saint-Jean-des-Monts, where he led an informal art school.

In late 1940s, after the end of the war, he moved to his in-laws’ house in Saint-Tropez, where he found old friends and continued to paint and exhibit.

The Museum of the Abbaye de la Sainte-Croix in Les Sables d’Olonne is the depository of an extensive collection of his paintings and drawings and documents.