Biography from Richard Rhoda Fine Art:
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compared to the extensive information about American artists.
Willy Eisenschitz (Vienna, 1889 – Paris, 1974) began his
studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1910, but in 1912
moved to Paris to continue his education at the Academy de la
Grande Chaumiere*. His exposure to the French Impressionists*
Gauguin and Cezanne led to an infatuation that lasted the rest of
Eisenschitz’s life.
If Central Europe had been his main source of inspiration as an
emerging painter, Paris, the canal Saint-Martin and the south of France
were soon to build the basis of his future inspiration. An
outstanding colorist*, Eisenschitz painted landscapes, interiors,
portraits and still-lifes. Landscaper above all, he was little
influenced by the revolutionary pictorial movements around in Paris at
the time, but he did absorb some of the post-war Cubism* by using some
geometrized shapes.
In 1913 he married his fellow student Claire Bertrand, and in 1914
participated in an exhibition at the Vienna Secession*. Later
that year he was incarcerated in an internment camp near Angers.
In 1915 and 1916, his wife gave birth to a daughter and a son in the
camp. In 1917, complications after contracting tuberculosis
required a convalescence in Switzerland, but in 1920 Eisenschitz was
able to return to Paris and take a studio and apartment on Rue de
Tournon.
From 1921, Eisenschitz spent the summer in Provence and traveled the
Cote d’ Azure and Italian Riviera. In his work, Eisenschitz
captured the mood and the light of the south and created a unique
expression of its brilliance, color and depth.
In 1923 he had a relapse of tuberculosis. 1925 marked the beginning of
several long stays in the French spa town of Dieulefit followed in 1927
by a move to Les Minimes near Toulon. By 1931, severe arthritis
in his right shoulder required Eisenschitz to work more and more with
watercolor. In 1935, Eisenschitz was naturalized French.
He exhibited in Paris, Vienna, London, Lausanne, Honolulu, and
Toulon. Eisenschitz received the gold medal at the Universal
Exhibition of 1937 in Paris. The following year, he traveled around the
British Isles and then on to Spain. He illustrated three books by
Jean Giono: The True Riches, The Death of Wheat, Entrance of Spring. He also illustrated books by Aldous Huxley.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Eisenschitz returned to
Provence where intellectual refugees had gathered. In 1943, after
a police interrogation in Les Minimes, Eisenschitz escaped with his
family to the mountain village of Dieulefit and began painting under
the pseudonym "Villiers". The following year, his son David, who had
enrolled in the Resistance, was arrested and deported and Eisenschitz
returned to Toulon. From 1951 he traveled to Ibiza, Spain and lived
alternately in Paris and in Provence.
At the end of the war, Eisenschitz shared his time between excursions
and his exhibitions in Paris, Toulon and Marseille. He was
systematically inspired by the environment around him. He
returned to Les Minimes in 1945 and in 1949 held an exhibition ,"A
Family of Painters" at the Galerie Allard, with works by himself, his
wife, Claire Bertrand and their daughter, Evelyn Marc. From
1951 to 1959, he made several trips to Ibiza, in the Languedoc region
of Sudan. The Durand-Ruel Gallery* in Paris and the Museum of
Toulon exhibited his work from that period. A year before his
death in 1974, a retrospective was organized at the House of the
Culture of Amiens.
Sources:
ecoledeparis.org (Nadine Nieszawer, Marie Boyé, Paul Fogel
"Peintres Juifs à Paris 1905-1939 Ecole de Paris", Editons Denoel
2000), kunsthandelwidder.com, German Wikipedia and Galerie
Weinpolter.au.
Works by Willy Eisenschitz are in the following museums and public collections:
British Museum, London British Museum, London
Bristol Art Gallery Bristol Art Gallery
Chateau-Musée de Cagnes-sur-Mer Chateau-Musee de Cagnes-sur-Mer
Academy of Arts, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu
Musée National d´Art Moderne au Centre Pompidou, Paris Musée National d'Art Moderne au Pompidou Center, Paris
Musée d´Art de la Ville de Paris Musée d'Art de la Ville de Paris
Musée des Beaux-Arts de d´Histoire naturelle de Valence Musee des Beaux-Arts de Valence d'Histoire naturelle de
Musée Cantini, Marseille Musée Cantini, Marseille
Musée Franco-Israelien, Dimona/Israel Musée Franco-Israeli Dimona-Israel
Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence Musee Granet, Aix-en-Provence
Musée Marcel Sahut, Volvic Musée Marcel Sahut, Volvic
Musée de Toulon Musee de Toulon
Musée de Saint Pierre, Lyon Musée de Saint Pierre, Lyon
Musée de Picardie, Amiens Musée de Picardie, Amiens
Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz
Österreichische Galerie im Belvedere, Wien Austrian Gallery Belvedere in Vienna
Rupertinum Graz Rupertinum Graz
Historical Exhibitions
1957: Musée de Toulon, retrospective of 60 works from 1926 to 1957
1999: Exhibition at the Museum Lentos (New Gallery) of Linz (Austria)
2001: Willy Eisenschitz Retrospective at the Musée d'Art de Toulon
2006 : (April-May): Exhibition of paintings,
watercolors and drawings by Willy Eisenschitz and Victor Bourgeois, the
Art Center Raymond Du Puy, Poet-Laval (Drôme)
* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see
AskART.com Glossary
http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx
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