Marcel Mouly, born in Paris in 1918, was a French artist who painted in an abstract style. He was the last living student of Picasso and a protégé of Fernand Leger. He was considered one of the greatest contemporary artists of the century. He was influenced by Braque, Matisse, and mostly Picasso. Matisse influenced Mouly in the Fauvist use of color that is apparent in all Mouly's paintings. His first public one person show was in 1949 at the Libraire Bergamasque in Paris.

Mouly's work is exhibited in museums such as the Musee Nationale d'art Modern in the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, Musee de Geneve in Switzerland, the SFMOMA in San Francisco, and numerous other museums, more than 20 around the world. He received two of France's highest art awards: the Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1957 and the Premier Prix de Lithographie in 1973.