Spiritual Artist Augustin Lesage: Painting Spirit

This French spiritualist was born on August 19, 1876 in little town St. Pierre les Auchel in French mining area of Pas de Calais. Lesage has found his first job in local mine when he was 14 years old.  He didn't plan to work in mine for long. His main goal was to earn some money and travel away, 

When he was eighteen he met a girl, and they got married. When he was nineteen he became father, and the Augustin Lesage made decision to stop working in mine to be with his family. After returning from the military service, he needed more money for the family. This made him return to his previous job of miner. 

One day on work, deep under the surface he heard a voice telling him: "One day you will become a painter". Every man, sane enough, would stop here and think: "Hey, this one was for psychiatry, and not the mine". To be honest I had the same thought when I heard about him for the first time. And then I saw his paintings. Wow, that is a story to be told, I thought!

Augustin Lesage, now French spiritualist,  decided to start obeying to the terms he was told by "spirits", one of which he believed was his sister Mary. 

He made an order for canvas. When it was delivered to him, he was surprised it was 3 m long canvas. He expected it to be few smaller ones. Lesage took scissors in order to cut it into smaller, acceptable pieces, but his hands shivered. This time, coming from his head, "spirit's" voice told him he was going to paint on that big canvas. Lesage obeyed, and he mounted it, prepared painting materials, and started painting.

This was the moment when one of the most awkward painting attempts began. 

It seems painting wasn't of any physical or mental stress for this French spiritualist. The fact he was working twelve hours long shifts in mine didn't left any side effect on his artistic work when he would return home. On the contrary, he felt doing his art was giving him new energy. He felt relaxed after he would finish painting. 

The most interesting thing was the artistic process itself. His technique was different from any other existing painting techniques. He was covering this three meters high canvas from left to right, from upper to lower parts of it. He would start applying colors on left upper corner of canvas, and continued in horizontal line. Lesage was, actually painting in rows. Augustin had no sketches, no plans for his work, nothing. He would just sit down, and start working like printing machine. 

One more impressive fact about Augustine Lesage's artistic work was that his paintings were perfectly symmetrical. 

He was accepted as remarkable artist during his lifetime. His paintings were quite popular during 1920s and 1930s. Despite popularity he was enjoying at the time, Lesage never claimed to be the author of his work. He was talking of himself merely as of instrument of higher forces. 

Augustin Lesage died in February 21, 1954. He joined his painting spirits almost completely blind. During his lifetime he made over eight hundred paintings. This spiritual artist remained humble for whole of his life. He never sold any of his painting for more than the price of his paycheck while he was miner. 

Prophecies about him becoming famous painter, and about his work being subject of scientific research came to be true. 

Today Lesage is considered irrelevant artist, which is completely unfair to this spiritualist with remarkable gift. Believing or not in ghost story behind his artistic works, you have to admit Augustin Lesage deserved to be accepted as one of the greatest artists of 20th century. 

See more artistic work of this French spiritualist, Augustin Lesage.