Guy Joseph Marie de Villardi comte de Montlaur (9 September 1918, Biarritz — 10 August 1977, Garches) was a French painter from the Languedoc family of Montlaur. He was a resistance fighter in WW2, he landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944 with the 1er BFMC troops (aka "Kieffer Commandos"), he participated in the Battle of Normandy and landed again in Holland on 1 November 1944. Montlaur's paintings were influenced by the great classical works such as those by Paolo Uccello, Ingres, Delacroix and later Kandinsky. One can define four styles characterising the evolution of Montlaur's work: cubism immediately post-war, geometric abstraction from 1949, abstract expressionism from 1955 and finally lyrical abstraction around 1960, once he had achieved the summit of his art and technique. His work was often mystical, sometimes religious, and was marked by the terrible memories of his wartime experiences. His origins and training Guy de Montlaur was born on 9 September 1918 in Biarritz, from one of the oldest families in the Languedoc, mentioned as early as the 11th century. The Chateau de Montlaur (11th Century) is situated 20 km north east of Montpellier. Guy de Montlaur also had Italian heritage from his Villardi ancestors who were allies of the Visconti and Baroncelli. They settled in Provence at the end of the 13th Century. He had Brazilian ancestors on his mother's side who came from São Paulo and Salvador da Bahia. His father died when he was a young boy from lingering effects of being gassed in World War I, at which point Montlaur moved to Paris. He started to paint at a young age. Between 1936 and 1938 while studying literature and philosophy at the Sorbonne he was a regular at Emmanuel Fougerat's studio and then at the Academie Julian. He worked with Jean Souverbie and accompanied him to the World's Fair of 1937 at the Palais de Chaillot. In 1937, he met a young American woman also studying art, Adelaide Oates, he married her six years later. In 1938, just after the Munich Agreement he left for his military service. The soldier Guy de Montlaur was at the front at the onset of the war on 3 September 1939. He was with the 3rd Regiment of the Hussards based at Sarreguemines, regrouped in the 15th Groupe de Reconnaissance de Corps d'Armée and took part from the start of the war in numerous raids in