Henri Catargi was born on the 6th of December 1894 at Bucharest and he first attended the courses of the Faculty of Law at Sorbonne, in France.
In parallel, between the years 1919 – 1922, he studied painting at the Julian Academy and at the Academy Ranson from Paris under the guidance of Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard, Felix Valloton and Roger Bissie, working in the workshops managed by Andre Lhote and Marcel Gromaire.
Within his training he executed more reproductions after the works of Poussin exhibited at the Louvre.
The first personal exhibit of the painter took place at Paris, in 1922, after which the artist started to earn his fame in Europe, as well as in Romania, exhibiting at Bucharest, but also at Moscow, Belgrade, Prague, Berlin, New Delhi, Cairo, London and Tokyo.
His first works are in principal static natures and austere landscapes, in which the settlement of the plans and the depth of the space tried to perform a tridimensional effect, in the spirit of the new realism of the years ’20.
He was preoccupied during the years ’20, especially by the color, although the chromatic palette approached was limited to brown, ochre and white, also including a wide range of grey, green and dark red.
He gave up later on, after 1930 at the chromatic asceticism for a more sober and discrete lyricism based on warm tones. The color does not hide entirely the sketch of the painting.
He executed many drawings and sketches in ink, aquarelle and crayon (a part of the sketches were found at the Memorial museum Henri Catargi from Scăești, now being found in the custody of the Art Museum from Craiova).
Throughout his life, Henri Catargi also created numerous drawings and sketches in ink, aquarelle and crayon, and in the last period of his life, gouaches with a fresh coloring.
Throughout his artistic life, Catargi participated at numerous personal and group exhibits in the country, as well as abroad, his works being exhibited at Bucharest, but also at Moscow, Belgrade, Prague, Berlin, New Delhi, Cairo, London and Tokyo.
The plastic artist who is known especially for his landscapes and for the representations of feminine figures, died in the year 1976, at Bucharest.
Through the Decree no. 514 from the 18th of August 1964 of the State council of the Romanian Popular Republic, to the painter Henri Catargi was given the title of the Artist of the People from the Romanian Popular Republic “for special honors in the activity developed in the field of theatre, music, plastic arts and cinematography.”
