2025-09-25
The paintings of the 'Prince of Montparnasse' are filled with women with almond-shaped eyes and elongated bodies. They sit politely in empty spaces, often motionless. It is not without reason that they remind us of the melancholic muses of Modigliani – Mojżesz Kisling, the artist in question, was his neighbor in La Ruche.
From September 20, the Museum of the City of Pabianice is hosting an exhibition entitled 'Kisling in Pabianice. In Select Company: Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, Lempicka, and Others...', where we can see as many as 50 works by the artist.
Kisling began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, but after graduating, he decided that it was not the place for him. On his way from Krakow's Kazimierz district to Paris, he encountered artists such as Picasso and Braque, and in Brittany, he made contact with Ślewiński. These relationships, among others, shaped his style.
Although the nickname 'prince' referred reather to his charismatic personality, we can perhaps find something of Renaissance noble portraits in his paintings of women. The simplicity of the composition, the empty space, and the frame bring to mind, for example, Botticelli's art.
We associate the École de Paris primarily with the influences of modernist styles such as Cubism and Fauvism, but many artists associated with this group also drew on the old traditions of European painting. This is reflected above all in the themes of their works – still lifes, conventional portraits, nudes, and landscapes.