The Jury
2026 Jury
LThe jury for this 38th edition is as follows:
- Richard GAUTIER
- Fabienne TEXIER
- Daniel DOUTRE
- Bernard MASSON
- Jean-Pierre MEINVIELLE
- Astrid LAVIÉVILLE
Richard Gautier - Painter of Realism and Trompe-l'Œil
Born on 22 August 1948 in Niort (Deux-Sèvres)Richard Gautier is the youngest of three children. His father, a sculptor and ceramist, introduced him to drawing and modelling as a child. He trained first at the École des Beaux-Arts in Poitiers (CAFAS), then at the Académie Anquetin in Neuilly, under the guidance of Madame Versini. These two schools marked a decisive turning point in Gautier's artistic development.
He was attracted to realism and an admirer of the Old Masters, he finally chose this path. He was soon noticed by Henri Cadiou, a leading figure in the Peintres de la Réalité group, who sponsored him. In 1966, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants with his first trompe-l'œil entitled The tea towel. That same year, he sold his first work and became the youngest painter in the realist movement.
His artistic career has been marked by numerous international exhibitions Luxembourg, Geneva, New York, Beirut, Quebec, Brussels, Neuenstadt (Germany)... and receives several major awardsThese include a gold medal from the Salon des Artistes Français in Caen, Cognac, Colmar and Deauville, as well as a silver medal at the "Bilan de l'Art Contemporain" in Quebec.
In France, he regularly takes part in major trade fairs: Salon des Artistes Français, Salon des Indépendants, Comparisons, Drawing and watercolour exhibition, Society of Pastellists of Franceor Art Capital at the Grand Palais. He is also a member of the Taylor Foundation and has received a number of honours, including Official Academic Knight of the International "Greci-Marino" Order.
Richard Gautier has exhibited in many renowned galleries, including :
- Galerie Weil, Paris (1970)
- Galate Gallery, Paris (1974)
- Artforum, Geneva (1989)
- Galerie Michèle Boulet, Paris (1994)
- Galerie Thuillier, Paris (2000)
- Galerie Nesle, Paris (2025)
It was guest of honour in a number of national shows, including La Rochelle, Chauray, Cognac, Saint-André-des-Eaux, Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, Lunéville and La Tremblade. Since 2021, he has also been chairman of the jury of the Magné International Painting Festival.
His work, which is essentially realistic and trompe-l'œil, bears witness to a exceptional technical mastery and a deep sensitivity. He has published several books retracing his career:
- Album with 50 colour reproductions (1988)
- Richard Gautier, 50 years of painting (2017, 446 colour reproductions)
- The Philosopher Brush (2024, 68 reproductions with explanatory texts)
Through his constant commitment, his rigorous style and his fidelity to realism, Richard Gautier has established himself as one of the great French masters of contemporary trompe-l'œil.
Bernard Masson
In my role as Heritage Delegate, I have organised numerous exhibitions of paintings, sculptures and photographs for official bodies and associations in the provinces, the Paris region and Paris (notably at the Hôtel des Invalides).
I've been delighted to take part in the Magné International Painting Festival for several years now, as a member of the Selection Jury.
Lieutenant-colonel (retired) Jean-Paul Meinvielle
1991: gold medal for "all media painting" at the national arts and crafts show organised by the Fédération des clubs sportifs et artistiques de la défense (FCSAD).
1995: Gold medal for "all media painting" at the Salon national des métiers d'arts organised by the Fédération des clubs sportifs et artistiques de la défense (FCSAD) and organiser of this exhibition at the Royal Abbey in Nieul sur l'Autize (Jean-Marie Zacchi member of the Jury).
1996: Exhibition organiser
of painting and sculpture from the western zone of the CFSDS in the abbey of
Canclaux at the ENSOA in Saint Maixent l'Ecole (Jean-Marie Zacchi, guest of honour)
1997: Organiser, with General Masson, of the "50 most beautiful photos of the military press" exhibition at the ENSOA museum in Saint Maixent L'Ecole.
1996-2002: member of the jury for the Magné painting festival (in external operations in 2003).
2004-2023: member of the jury of the Magné painting festival
1999: Organiser of the FCSAD Western Zone painting and sculpture show at the Caserne Belliard in Fontenay-le-Comte (Henri Murail, sculptor from Challans, guest of honour).
2003: Organisation of the first exhibition of painters from the 3 Armies (Army, Navy, Air Force and Space) at the Caserne Belliard in Fontenay-le-Comte.
2004-2009: on "reserve" contract at the Delegation for Army Heritage (DelPAT) at Les Invalides, in charge of the 40 Army painters.
2005, 2007, 2009: curator of the Salon des Peintres de l'Armée at Les Invalides.
Organiser, with General Masson, of exhibitions of Army painters in Boulogne Billancourt, Bar le Duc, Mouilleron en Pareds, the Historial de la Vendée in Les Lucs sur Boulogne and Saint Maixent l'Ecole.
Vice-president and secretary, from 2008 until 2023, then president of the Association des amis des peintres de l'armée (ASAPOA).
Daniel Doutre, an artist between reality and imagination
A self-taught artist born in Niort in 1943, he began his artistic career in his teens. At the age of 13, he produced his first gouache paintings. After training as a decorative letter painter, he specialised in silkscreen printing, a profession he practised until 2003.
It was only in 1980, after a long hiatus, he returned to painting. Initially very figurative, his style quickly evolved, carried away by the sensory memories of his beginnings: glazes, oil patinas, smells of the studio. His work is transformed into dreamlike compositions, mixing abstraction and figurative fragments, where each painting seems to hide an "imaginary key" inviting the viewer to enter a world of sensations, mysterious staircases and dreamy Iberian villages.
From 2008, Daniel also explored sculpture, fascinated by the third dimension. He works mainly in steel and, more recently, in resin on a metal frame, creating unique pieces in which history and symbolism take shape. Each work is born of a precise inner vision, often sketched out in advance, revealing mysterious signs engraved in patinated metal.
His talent has been rewarded by numerous He has won prestigious awards (Gold Medal in Cholet, Gold Stanislas in Nancy, Grand Prix de Châtellerault, etc.) and his work has been exhibited in France, Germany, Australia and Canada. Some of his creations can be found in private collections, notably in Boston (USA).
Daniel Doutre exhibits regularly, both in galleries (Doublet in Avranches, Grafic in Niort) and at major art fairs. His career, a blend of artisanal memory and free imagination, has made him a singular figure in French contemporary art.
Astrid
An archaeologist of the imagination,
On the edge of worlds
A leap into the realm of the imagination
For the past thirty years, Astrid Laviéville’s work has centred on
sculpture, engraving and mixed-media painting – explores the realms of the invisible. The artist does not seek to reproduce
reality, whilst revealing its dreamlike roots. His works are born of daydreams and take shape gradually through the working of materials. The initial idea takes form and crystallises as a narrative unfolds, in step with the demanding pace of the creative process. The alchemy of metamorphosis.
For Astrid, creating is second nature, a legacy
a family tradition that has shaped her identity and inspired her to turn it into a career she is passionate about.
She transforms fragments of everyday life into poetic objects: cogs, seeds and petals become brooches, talismans or motifs, blending the delicacy of living things with the arts of fire. Engraving and painting extend this exploration of traces and palimpsests, where imprints, transparencies and memories are layered upon one another. The vestiges of time.
At the heart of this work beats the pulse of Time: that inescapable,
which marks the transition from childhood to adulthood, where the
The reverie threatens to fade away. His fascination with erosion, rust and patinas is not a quest for ruin, but a search for memory. The material is treated to become the remnant of an imaginary civilisation, an artefact salvaged from the wreckage of oblivion. His sculptures thus present themselves as archaeological treasures from an inner world, inviting the viewer to reconnect with their own sense of innocence and, for the brief moment of a glance, to prolong a story once thought to be lost. A well-established path. His career has been built through exhibitions in France and internationally, notably in South Korea, Israel and the United States. This journey has been marked by awards and honours, celebrating the uniqueness of his approach. Over the years, his works have found their way into private and public collections, both in France and abroad.
Fabienne Texier
Originally from Niort and with his feet firmly planted in the marshes
Poitevin, between Cram-Chaban, Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud and Coulon.
A resident of Magnésienne by choice, having moved there to be close to her family; niece of
Bernard Texier, who co-founded the International Painting Festival with Jean Thebault, and cousin of Richard Texier, son of Bernard and an internationally renowned artist.
As an art and archaeology historian, I am deeply
I am convinced, like the late Edgar Morin, that «art makes us better people and fosters our altruism». What would life be without art?
Chair of several cultural and heritage organisations, including the Deux-Sèvres Historical and Scientific Society (SHSDS),
Association for the Preservation and Study of Scientific and Technical Teaching Instruments (ASEISTE), Alienor.org, the Museums Council – I work every day to protect and raise awareness of our heritage.
