Landscape from the South of France

Moise Kisling [1891-1953] was born in Cracow, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Art, in the atelier of Józef Pankiewicz. At the age of 19 he went to Paris. While staying in France he met Amedeo Modigliani, Max  Jacob, and Chaim Soutine. He also lived in Bateau-Lavoir on Montmartre for a while, where he met Juan Gris, who in 1912 introduced him to Picasso and Braque. Despite the contact with cubism, Kisling did not follow this tendency, he was interested rather in Cézanne’s artistic achievements. In 1912 and 1913 Kisling displayed his work at the Autumn Salon, later in 1914 also at the Salon of Independent Artists (Salon des Indépendants). He served in the army during the war. After he was wounded in the battlefield he was recovering at the Montparnasse, where again he was involved in the artistic life of the city. In 1919 Kisling’s exhibition at the Gallery Druet achieved a great success. His painting entitled “Crazy Years”, devoted to a vivid area of Montparnasse, was hailed as a prototype of the cosmopolitan École de Paris.