SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Jean Fous

Jean Fous (1901–1971), a French naïve painter born in Paris and deceased in L’Union, near Toulouse, chose popular festivities, village weddings and, with particular attention, flea markets as his subjects. His work as a second-hand dealer also made the latter familiar to him.

Initially trained by his father as a picture framer, he soon abandoned this path. After working in various trades and spending a long period in the Midi, he returned to Paris, to the Saint-Sulpice district. His meeting with Anatole Jakovsky in 1943 preceded the beginning of his paintings devoted to the Parisian flea markets, a subject with which he was intimately familiar.

In 1945, he presented the solo exhibition « Les Marchés aux puces » at the Galerie Médicis and was included in « Peintres autodidactes » at the Galerie du Bac. In 1958, the Galerie Robert Prouté hosted his exhibition « Le peintre de Paris, des marchés aux Puces et de la banlieue ». He subsequently took part in an exhibition at the Maison de la Pensée française in Paris in 1960, then in London in 1962 in « Les Peintres Naïfs », as well as in « Primitifs d’aujourd’hui » at the Galerie Charpentier in Paris in 1964. In autumn 1970, shortly before his death, he wrote his autobiography.

Among the documented works is « La retraite aux Flambeaux », dated circa 1966: this oil on canvas, measuring 50 × 65 cm, is signed, and signed and titled on the verso.

This profile brings together identity references for Jean Fous and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

1 references are documented at Germann. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.

Works recorded at auction

Germann

The torchlight procession, circa 1966

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

La retraite aux Flambeaux, um 1966
Öl auf Leinwand.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

• Reference record
• AGORHA · Reference link only; no institutional text or image copied.
• LoC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
• Documentary source
• Documentary source
• Documentary source

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19