Press article : A masterpiece by Hervé Di Rosa up for auction - Nice Matin

Hervé Di Rosa, born in 1959

This is an unmissable event for art lovers and collectors. On August 15, Besch Cannes Auction will be taking over the lounges of the Martinez Hotel for its traditional summer auction. Among the most eagerly anticipated lots is a monumental painting by Hervé di Rosa : 20,000 Foes, an acrylic on canvas stretched over its original wooden frame, measuring 149 x 307 cm. Dated 1984 and from a private collection, the work is estimated at between 30000 and 40000 euros. Created at the height of the painter’s career, it embodies all the colourful energy and overwhelming imagination of his early years. Its title is indirectly inspired by Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, substituting the English term foes (enemies). When he painted 20,000 Foes, Hervé Di Rosa was only 25 years old, but had already established himself as one of the leading figures of the new French art scene. Born in Sète in 1959, and having studied at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he began selling his paintings as early as 1979 and exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam and New York from a very early stage. In 1981, he joined Robert Combas, Rémi Blanchard and François Boisrond in founding Figuration libre, an artistic movement named by Ben.

Hervé Di Rosa (born 1959) – “20,000 Foes”, 1984 – Acrylic on canvas stretched over a wooden frame – 149 x 307 cm – Estimate : 30000/40000€

Drawing inspiration from comic books, rock music, cinema and popular culture, Di Rosa breaks down genre barriers and breathes new life into French painting by creating a world populated by hybrid characters, cyclopes, monsters and creatures in vibrant colours, foremost among whom is the famous ‘René’. A tireless globetrotter, he went on to travel the world to enrich his practice by working alongside artisans in Africa, Asia and Latin America, experimenting with lacquer, ceramics, wood carving, bronze, tapestry and even painting on glass. In 2000, he founded the International Museum of Modest Arts (MIAM) in Sète. Elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in late 2022, he was honoured with a retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in 2024. This summer, the Sète-based painter is taking centre stage at another event in Cannes.

Located on the Croisette, the La Malmaison contemporary art centre is currently hosting the exhibition Mirages du monde, the paintings of Hervé Di Rosa. Organised into three sections, the exhibition traces forty years of his creative output and brings together paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics and tapestries, from his early years in the Figuration libre movement to his most recent works, including series inspired by his travels around the world. On display until November 8.

Nice Matin - July Sunday 26, 2026 - Art & Enchères - By Laurence Guidicelli