Capton, Gilles

Paintings by Gilles Capton are powerful. The themes of his paintings as well as the technique Gilles masters are strong and captivating. Capton uses oil paint on canvass.

Gilles Capton mostly paints animals, above all bulls and cows. However, he also uses the male figure as medium to represent the struggle between nature and civilisation. In his work the force of nature is represented by his cattle portraits, animals which command enormous respect for their natural power and agility but yet have also been a pivotal part of our civil life for much of the evolution of mankind.

In Gilles paintings of male figures, he captures this paradox of nature versus civilisation in a reverse way, where the strength of mileniums of civilistion contrasts with the stark power of nature. He depicts his models using natural objects as decoration or clothing, which enforces the idea that nature and civilisation are opposites and yet so closely related.

The use of claire/obscure also strengthens the feel of contrast between nature and civilisation. Bathing in beautiful lightfall, Gilles’ models escape from obscurity of darkness, the chaos which mankind battles to replace with orderly society and an understanding of beauty.

The mere fact that Capton paints scenes so related to nature creates a fascinating contradiction. The technicallity of panting, the use of clair/obscure and abstraction of emotion is the ultimate contrast between civilisation and nature.

Gilles Capton (1961) went to the Académie des Beaux Arts in Orleans, France. Capton’s work is part of many private collections, mainly in France.