JEAN DESPRES

Jean Després 1889-1980 Jean Eugene Gilbert Despres was born in Burgundy. At the age of 16, he went to Paris to apprentice with a friend of his father, who had a jewelry and metal workshop in the Marais. At night, he studied design. He met Modigliani, Soutine, DeChirico, Signac, and most important, Georges Braque, who, with Picasso was the founder of Cubism. Training as an airplane mechanic during WWI inspired a fascination with machine parts.