ツ ツ

We perform Lucien Jonas art authentication, appraisal, certificates of authenticity (COA), analysis, research, scientific tests, full art authentications. We will help you sell your Lucien Jonas or we will sell it for you.

Four Soldiers (French, English, Italian, American) with the Statue of Liberty, 1918

Lucien Jonas was a French artist specializing in sketches and paintings about war and patriotism. During World War I, Jonas was commissioned by the French government to create posters, and also worked as an illustrator for Le Journal.

Emprunt de la Liberation/ Loan of the Liberation

Born in Valenciennes, Jonas studied art in Paris under Bonnat and Maignan. While Jonas eventually became known for his realistic depictions of soldiers, his earliest artwork as a student was likely to be in an Impressionistic hand.

Plein Air Painter Market Day in Valenciennes

Prior to World War I, Jonas was also known for painting circus scenes, seascapes, landscapes and other themes.

La Guerre des Nations Sappers in the Trenches

While war may have been a stopping point in the career of other artists, for Jonas it was truly the beginning. He found his niche creating hundreds of sketches while in the service, and depictions of war became his calling card. Jonas would create charcoal and oil painted portraits of government officials and war torn landscapes and became respected in the military.

Fighters in the First Position America Owes France the Most Unalterable Gratitude, 1918

After World War I, Jonas continued to paint for the French government and was named the official painter of the French Navy in 1931. Jonas also served as an art instructor and won the Prix de Rome in 1905. In 1933, he traveled to Algeria and created a number of Orientalist compositions during this time.

Day of the African Army and Colonial Troops

Today, Jonas’s paintings and sketches are housed in Paris, and his art is highly collectible today. Not only are his World War I era sketches and paintings valuable in the art community, but hold a historical value as well. Because Jonas is better known as a war painter, it is highly likely for someone to own a landscape or early figure painting by Jonas. However, he also traveled extensively as a soldier, sketching and painting as he went, and much of his World War I work could have been given away or stolen anywhere in Europe.

One Year of War: The Charge

Still wondering about a World War I French poster or military themed painting in your home? It may be by Lucien Jonas…contact us, we are the Lucien Jonas experts.