In 1944, J.D. met Olivier Le Corneur, an art lover and a collector who initiated him in the ancient and primitive arts.  Partly under his influence, J.D. gradually gathered a fine collection of ancient objects from Egypt, Africa and Central America (see Collector).  Some African art objects belonging to Le Corneur or Marcoussis were often starting points for J.D.'s first abstract paintings...
In addition, every summer from 1947 to 1957, J.D. worked in Olivier Le Corneur's small house at Gordes.  Finally, the latter wrote several accounts on J.D., in particular " Flashback on a friendship " (see Biblio).