HELENE BAILLY Paris-Genève

The HELENE BAILLY Gallery is proud to present a monographic exhibition dedicated to Moïse Kisling (1891-1953), a Polish-born painter who became a naturalized French citizen, a singular figure of the School of Paris, celebrated for his mastery of color and his central role in redefining the modern nude. Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Kisling’s early formation reflects a dual lineage: that of the Post-Impressionist masters - Renoir, Cézanne - and that of his teacher Józef Pankiewicz, who encouraged him to move to Paris in 1910. Settling first in Montmartre, then in Montparnasse, he quickly integrated into the cosmopolitan world of the Parisian avant-garde. His friendships with Modigliani, Soutine, and Braque played a formative role in shaping his pictorial language. Fascinated by the female figure, which he treated as a plastic ideal, Kisling developed a distinctive iconography of the frontal portrait and stylized nude, which would become emblematic of his oeuvre. In parallel, his work in still life - particularly in floral compositions - offered a space for chromatic exploration and decorative structure...

Picture: MOÏSE KISLING (1891-1953), Jeune Femme Assise se Coiffant, 1918, Huile sur toile, 92 x 73 cm, 120 x 101 cm (avec cadre)

MOÏSE KISLING (1891-1953), Jonquilles, 1944, Huile sur toile, 56 x 38,5 cm, 82 x 62,5 cm (avec cadre)