Léo Théron

South African pioneer and maestro in the art of dalles de verres sous-lè-beton

Léo was born in Pretoria in 1926. His father was a Minister in the Dutch Reformed Church but his 'roots' can be traced back to the Thérons of Montpellier in France. The 'clan' originally came from Rhodos.

He received his formal art training, specializing in mural painting, from Rhodes University, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and thereafter studied fresco painting in Italy and France.

His exposure to new developments in the techniques of stained glass in the studios of the Labourets, Jean Barillet, and Gabriel Loire in France, led to his career as a full-time artist in the medium of dalles de verres sous lè beton or thick-glass-in-concrete in 1966.

Léo's art work in this medium as opposed to 'thin glass' has led to more than three hundred commissions to be seen all over Southern Africa, whilst his windows can also be found in Italy, and Spain (Catalonia).