52 - Joachim WEINGART (Drohobych 1895–Auschwitz 1942)

Joachim WEINGART (Drohobych 1895–Auschwitz 1942) Presumed Self-Portrait of the Artist with the Torah Oil on cardboard 61 x 50 cm Signed lower right "Weingart" Provenance: Guy Loudmer auction, April 8, 1990, lot 173 Acquired at that auction by the current owner Born in Drohobych, Poland, Weingart did not arrive in Paris until 1925, after having achieved some success with his exhibitions in his homeland, where he had begun his studies in painting in 1912 at the Weimar School of Applied Arts, before moving to Vienna to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. In Berlin, he then benefited from Archipenko’s guidance. Carol Katz, an industrialist and patron of the arts, decided to support the painter. Weingart was an expressive painter with a keen sense of color. Still lifes, portraits, landscapes, female nudes, and cabaret or interior scenes were subjects he particularly favored. A sense of gentleness and sensitivity permeates his works. In 1934, he began creating charcoal drawings; an excellent draftsman, his line was lively, and he immediately captured an atmosphere and a temperament. When he arrived in Paris in 1925, he settled in Montparnasse with the artist Zygmunt Menkes. He became friends with the painters Léon Weissberg and Alfred Aberdam; together they formed the Group of Four. Joachim Weingart did not find immediate success. He joined the Société des Artistes Indépendants in January 1926. He was discovered by the art dealer René Gimpel, which brought him some success. The misfortunes he experienced in his married life profoundly influenced the course of his career. After several bouts of depression, he was hospitalized but continued to paint some of his finest works until his deportation in July 1942. Joachim Weingart participated in several group exhibitions, the first of which took place in Lwow in 1912. Joachim Weingart exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, the Salon des Indépendants, and the Salon des Tuileries. He held only one solo exhibition, at the Jewish Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1932. E.V.