44 - Eugène ZAK (Mogilno 1884–Paris 1926)

Eugène ZAK (Mogilno 1884–Paris 1926) Bay in the South of France Painted in 1913 Oil on cardboard 24 x 33 cm Signed lower left "Eug Zak" Comparable work: Barbara Brus-Malinowska, ed., “Eugeniusz Zak 1884–1926,” Warsaw, National Museum, December 18, 2003–February 29, 2004, Scientific and Technical Press, Warsaw, 2004, reproduced on p. 98, no. 56. Eugène Zak, born Eugeniusz Żak, was a Polish painter and draftsman of the School of Paris. He was born in Mogilno to a Polish Jewish family. His father was a railway engineer; he died in 1892. After his father’s death, his mother moved to her hometown of Warsaw. There, he began studying business and took up drawing. Eugène Zak arrived in the French capital in 1902, at the age of eighteen. He enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Jean-Léon Gérôme’s studio. A few months later, he continued his training at the Académie Colarossi, in the studio of the painter Albert Besnard. In 1903, Eugène Zak traveled throughout Europe. He visited Italy—Rome and Florence—and then arrived in Munich, where he took classes with Anton Azbe at a private art school. He returned to Paris the following year and began exhibiting at the Salon d’Automne. Eugène Zak subsequently made several trips to Brittany in 1906 and 1907, visiting Pont-l’Abbé and Douarnenez, among other places. During his travels, he painted portraits of Breton men and women, both in interiors and against landscape backdrops. Eugène Zak befriended several critics, writers, and art dealers, including André Salmon, Guillaume Apollinaire, Adolf Basler, and Waldemar George. In 1911, he stayed with Roman Kramsztyk in Audierne, became one of the founding members of the Society of Polish Artists in Paris, and rented a studio at 17 Rue Campagne-Première in Montparnasse. His neighbors included Polish artists such as Władysław Skoczylas, Jan Rubczak, and Gustaw Gwozdecki. In 1912, Zak taught at the private school “La Palette,” where Moïse Kisling was one of his students. That same year, the artist traveled to the south of France; he particularly enjoyed Vence, Saint-Paul, and Cagnes-sur-Mer. Eugène Zak married the painter Jadwiga Kon in 1913; they had been a couple since 1902. The artist returned to Paris in 1923 and lived at the Hôtel Médical, at 28 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques, along with his painter friends Marc Chagall and Zygmunt Menkes. Eugène Zak died suddenly on January 15, 1926, of a heart attack. After the painter’s death, his wife, Jadwiga Zak, founded the Galerie Zak on Rue de l’Abbaye in 1927. There, she organized major exhibitions, showcasing her husband’s works alongside those of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Jules Pascin, Béla Czóbel, and Giorgio de Chirico. In addition to his numerous “Idylls”—timeless and poetic landscapes—Eugène Zak also created more realistic landscapes inspired by his travels. In 1912–1913, the artist made several trips to the South of France, in the vicinity of Cagnes and Vence. It was during a trip in 1913 that the painter created the work we are presenting today. There is a similar version, painted on canvas measuring 64 × 81 cm and reproduced in the catalog *Eugeniusz Zak 1884–1926* by Barbara Brus-Malinowska. E.V