Moïse Kisling (born Mojżesz Kisling; 22 January 1891 – 29 April 1953) was a Polish-born French painter. He moved to Paris in 1910 at the age of 19, and became a French citizen in 1915, after serving and being wounded with the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He emigrated to the United States in 1940, after the fall of France, and returned there in 1946.

Early life and education

Born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

on 22 January 1891 to Jewish Parents. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow with

Jozef Pankiewicz Jozef or Józef is a Dutch, Breton, Polish and Slovak version of masculine given name Joseph. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list see and .. * Józef Beck (1894–1944), Polish foreign minister in the 1930s * ...

. His teachers encouraged the young man to go to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, considered the international center for artistic creativity in the early 20th century. In 1910, Kisling moved to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue C ...

in Paris initially living on Rue des Beaux-Arts, and a few years later to

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montpar ...

. At the outbreak of

, he volunteered for service in the

. After being seriously wounded in 1916 in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, he was awarded French citizenship. He married Renée Kisling (née Gros) in 1916, and together they had two sons, Jean (1922) and Guy Kisling (1922).

Career

Kisling lived and worked in Montparnasse as part of its renowned artistic community, he joined an émigré community made up of artists from eastern Europe as well as Americans and British. Most of the French kept to themselves, although the artistic community was international. In 1911–1912 he spent nearly a year at

Céret Céret (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of the historic Catalan comarca of Vallespir. Geography The town lies in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, in southern France. I ...

. And by 1913, he had moved to Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre, where he lived briefly. Eventually around 1913, he took a home residence and art studio on 3 Rue Joseph-Bara in Montparnasse, however he spent a lot of his time in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

in the 1920s. Kisling maintained the Paris residence and studio on Rue Joseph-Bara through World War II, and upon his return after the war it had been ransacked. The artists

Jules Pascin Julius Mordecai Pincas (March 31, 1885 – June 5, 1930), known as Pascin (; erroneously or ), Jules Pascin, or the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist known for his paintings and drawings. He later became an American citize ...

Léopold Zborowski Léopold Zborowski (1889–1932) was a Polish poet, writer and art dealer. He was born in Zaleszczyki into a Jewish family. Zborowski and his wife Anna (Hanka Zborowska) were contemporaries with Parisian artists such as Chaïm Soutine, André De ...

, and later

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, a ...

lived in the same building. He became close friends with many of his contemporaries, including Amedeo Modigliani, who painted a portrait of him in 1916 (in the collection of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris). His style in painting landscapes is similar to that of

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major ...

. A master at depicting the female body, his surreal nudes and portraits earned him the widest acclaim. Kisling volunteered for army service again in 1940 during World War II, although he was 49. When the French Army was discharged at the time of the surrender to the Germans, Kisling emigrated to the United States. He rightly feared for his safety as a Jew in

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. He exhibited in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He settled in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, and had his first art exhibition there in 1942. The Kinsling family lived next door to

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

and his family in Southern California, where they stayed there until 1946. Under the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, certain critics suggested too many foreigners, especially Jews, were diminishing French traditions. Their comments were part of a rise in

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

during the German occupation, resulting in French cooperation in the deportation and deaths of tens of thousands of foreign and French Jews in concentration camps. Kisling returned to France after the war and defeat of Germany.

Death and legacy

Moïse Kisling died at his house in

Bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, ...

, Var,

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its prefe ...

, France on 29 April 1953. He had been ill with stomach issues for ten days, prior to his death. A residential street in the town of Sanary-sur-Mer is named after him. His work is in various public museum collections, including at the

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...

Tokyo Fuji Art Museum was established by Daisaku Ikeda and opened near the Sōka University campus in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan, in 1983. The new wing was added in 2008. The collection of some thirty thousand works spans the arts and cultures of Japan, Asia, and Europ ...

, the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

, Ikeda 20 Seiki Museum, amongst others. A large collection of Kisling's works is held by the Musée du Petit Palais in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

Gallery

File:Moise Kisling, 1916, La Sieste à Saint-Tropez, Kisling avec Renée.jpg, Moïse Kisling, 1916, ''La Sieste à Saint-Tropez'' (Kisling with Renée) File:Kisling, Saint Tropez, 1917.jpg, Moïse Kisling, 1917, ''Bateaux à voile, Saint Tropez'' File:Moïse Kisling, Portrait du peintre (Autoportrait), oil on canvas, 81.3 x 60.3 cm, private collection.jpg, Moïse Kisling, ''Portrait du peintre (Autoportrait)'', oil on canvas, 81.3 x 60.3 cm, private collection. Published in ''Action: Cahiers Individualistes de Philosophie et d’art'', July 1920 File:Moïse Kisling, c.1920, Le pêcheur (The Fisherman), oil on canvas, 82 x 61.7 cm, private collection.jpg, Moïse Kisling, c.1920, ''Le pêcheur'' (''The Fisherman''), oil on canvas, 82 x 61.7 cm, private collection File:Moise Kisling, Nature morte. Reproduced in André Salmon, L'Art Vivant, Artistes d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, 1920.jpg, Moïse Kisling, ''Nature morte'', before 1920. Reproduced in André Salmon, ''L'Art Vivant'', Artistes d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, 1920 (black and white photograph) File:Moïse Kisling, 1921, Nu assis, oil on canvas, private collection.jpg, Moïse Kisling, 1921, ''Nu assis'', oil on canvas, private collection File:Moïse Kisling, Nature morte (Still Life), Action, Cahiers Individualistes De Philosophie Et D’art, August 1921.jpg, Moïse Kisling, ''Nature morte (Still Life)'', published in Action, Cahiers Individualistes De Philosophie Et D’art, August 1921 File:'Paysage de Provence', oil on canvas painting by Moïse Kisling, c. 1919.jpg, Moïse Kisling, c.1919, ''Paysage de Provence'', oil on canvas File:Amedeo Modigliani 032.jpg, ''Portrait of Kisling'' by

File:Modigliani.Moise Kisling.JPG,

, ''Portrait of Moïse Kisling'', 1918. Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France File:Roman Kramsztyk Portrait Moise Kisling 1913.jpg, ''Portrait of Moïse Kisling'' by

Roman Kramsztyk Roman Kramsztyk (18 August 1885 – 6 August 1942) was a Polish realist painter of Jewish descent in the interwar period. He was shot dead in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition a ...

, 1913 File:Pablo-Picasso-Moise-Kisling-Paquerette-Cafe-la-Rotonde-paris-1916.jpg, Moïse Kisling with fashion model Paquerette and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

, photographed by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

in 1916 at

Café de la Rotonde The Café de la Rotonde is a famous café in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France at 105 Boulevard du Montparnasse, known for its artistic milieu and good food. In its official website, La Rotonde defines itself as a brasserie and restaur ...

, 105

Boulevard du Montparnasse The Boulevard du Montparnasse is a two-way boulevard in Montparnasse, in the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements in Paris. Situation The boulevard joins the place Léon Paul Fargue and place Camille Jullian. The Tour Montparnasse and place du ...

, August 1916 File:Moïse Kisling, photograph.jpg, Moïse Kisling, 1941 File:Plaque Hôtel Istria, 29 rue Campagne-Première, Paris 14.jpg, Commemorative plaque, 29 rue Campagne-Première, Paris, 75014

References

External links

* *
Agence photo de la Réunion des musées nationaux RMN
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kisling, Moise 1891 births 1953 deaths Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) 20th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century French male artists Jewish painters Jewish artists Modern painters French military personnel of World War I French Army personnel of World War II Polish painters of Jewish descent 19th-century Polish Jews Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Artists from Kraków Polish emigrants to France Polish male painters Jewish School of Paris