Jacques (Ya'akov) Chapiro (1887–1972) was a painter of the

School of Paris The School of Paris (, ) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance of Paris as a centre o ...

. Chapiro was born in

Dinaburg Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) and died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1972.

Biography

The son of a wood sculptor, he began his artistic education at the early age of ten. In 1915, at the age of 18 he moved to Poland to attend the Kraków academy of fine art and in 1918 he moved to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

to study at the Academy of Fine Arts of Kiev. Chapiro was Jewish. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, while pursuing his studies, he contributed to the revolution efforts by painting posters. In 1921, he studied art in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, and during this period he worked as a decorator in the

Meyerhold Theater Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

. He worked for

Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...

and

Vakhtangov Yevgeny Bagrationovich Vakhtangov (also spelled Evgeny or Eugene; ; 13 February 1883 – 29 May 1922) was a Russian actor and theatre director who founded the Vakhtangov Theatre. He was a friend and mentor of Michael Chekhov.Martin BanhamThe ...

, both notorious in the field of theater. In 1925, he left Russia in favor of Paris, and settled down in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the 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. It is split betwee ...

. As of 1926, he exhibited his works at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

, the

Salon des Tuileries The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painters Albert Besnard and Bessie Davidson, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others. The first year's ...

among other places. In 1939, he became a refugee, escaping to

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

and later on to

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

. When the war ended he traveled to Italy, before returning to Paris. When he did return to Paris he set down to write his book of anecdotal stories taken from the life of the artists from

La Ruche ''La Ruche'' may refer to: * ''La Ruche'' (residence), artists' residence in Paris * ''La Ruche'' (school), early 1900s anarchist school outside Paris See also * Beehive (disambiguation) {{dab ...

. In the thirties, he painted several portraits, whose expressiveness and iconography preceded those of the portraits of Francis Bacon. Some art historians have repeatedly talked about a strong link between the painting of Van Gogh, Soutine, Chapiro and Bacon. He opposed the demolition of

in 1967 and founded, along with

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

and

Raymond Cogniat Raymond Cogniat (14 April 1896 – 20 February 1977) was a French art critic, journalist, historian of art and expert on theatre design.'Raymond Cogniat', ''The Times'', 15 March 1977. Life Raymond Cogniat was born on 14 April 1896, the son of a jo ...

, a committee that fought against this move. The committee succeeded in its cause. Chapiro's works can be found in museums in the United States (Chicago), Russia (Moscow) and France (Jeu de Paume, Paris). As to his artistic style, it seems that Chapiro was fond of experiments. His many paintings are much different from one another; some are classified as Cubistic in style, some as

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and others as

Fauvist Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

. Throughout his artistic career, Chapiro kept sketching in his unique signature, with a light and talented hand. It is in his realistic sketching, which are somewhat casual, that one can be truly impressed by his talent.

References

* Juifs-Russes de l'École de Paris

External links

Jacques Chapiro in the site of ''Gallery97 Tel Aviv''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapiro, Jacques 1887 births 1972 deaths Jewish painters People from Daugavpils Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts alumni 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 20th-century Russian Jews 20th-century Russian artists Soviet emigrants to France