Saturday, April 20 - Sunday, July 7, 2019
10AM 〜 6PM
(Last admission: 17:30)| Adults | Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | ¥1,100 | ¥880 |
| University students（Vocational students） | ¥880 | ¥700 |
| Middle & high school students | ¥550 | ¥440 |
| 65 and above | ¥550 | ¥440 |
Kisling (1891-1953) was one of the representative painters of the École de Paris. Born in Krakow, Poland, he moved to Paris at age 19 after graduating from art school, and befriended numerous artists, including Picasso, Georges Braque, Modigliani, and Pascin during the years he resided in the Montmartre and Montparnasse districts. Although influenced by cubism at an early stage, he resisted the departure from reality seen in cubism and similar movements, and soon began to depict his subjects in a realistic style. An enthusiastic student of traditional styles of painting from Italy and Flanders, Kisling sympathized with the 1920s “return to order” movement.
Kisling developed a distinctive style of landscape, still life, and portrait painting, but his unique traits are most evident in his portraits. His refined realism, achieved through careful brushwork, and his use of glowing, sensual colors that imbue his canvasses with tranquility established him as one of the important artists of the École de Paris. This exhibition features around 60 works from the 1920s and 1930s, a period when Kisling became a darling of the Paris art world known as the “Prince of Montparnasse,” as well as works from the period when he was residing in the United States.
The first Kisling exhibit in Japan in 12 years!
This is the first dedicated Kisling exhibition to come to Japan since 2007. We hope that you will take this opportunity to enjoy the artistic world of Kisling, the “Prince of Montparnasse” and star of the 1920s and 1930s Paris art scene.
Portraits brimming with vivid color and translucency
Kisling painted many portraits of friends, his wife, actresses, models, and young boys and girls. Kisling’s style of portraiture is apparent in works such as Bel-Gazou(Colette de Jouvenel) , depicting the daughter of the French female novelist Colette: the glowing yet translucent colors, realistically depicted details, and large, almond-shaped pupils that betray sadness. This exhibition features treasured portraits from the collections of domestic and foreign art museums and collectors.
A happy painter who lived through a turbulent era
Kisling lived through the turbulence of two world wars. His own life was impacted when he was wounded as a member of the French Foreign Legion during the First World War, and later forced to flee from Europe to America during the Second World War to escape Nazi persecution of Jews. However, as an outgoing and well-liked person who valued his friendships, even amid such a difficult era, he lived happily and continued to paint until the end of his life, blessed with friends and family and constant orders for his work.
5-21-9, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel +81(0)3 3443 0201
Figures in parentheses are group admission fees (for groups of 20 or more).
