80 - Jean Misceslas PESKE (Golta 1870 – Le Mans 1949)

Jean Misceslas PESKE (Golta 1870 – Le Mans 1949) Preparatory painting for "Maternity" Created in 1909 Oil on unstretched canvas 46 x 38 cm Signed lower left “Peské” On the back of the canvas, the handwritten inscriptions “CP 382” Provenance: Collection of the artist’s family This painting is a preparatory work for the painting “Maternité,” created in 1909, measuring 100 x 81 cm, which was exhibited at the Jean Peské exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris in 1972 under no. 109, as well as at the Galerie des Granges in Geneva in 1973 under no. 20. We thank the Jean Peské Association for confirming the authenticity of this work. Jean Peské, whose real name was Jan Miroslaw Peszke, was born in Gault, Ukraine, to a Polish father and a Russian mother. After studying at the School of Painting in Kiev, then at the Schools of Fine Arts in Odessa and Warsaw, he moved to Paris in 1891 to continue his training at the Académie Julian, in the studios of Jean-Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. Jean Peské became close to the Pointillists, particularly Signac, with whom he traveled to Saint-Tropez in 1893. He also befriended Sérusier and the Nabis, with whom he exhibited at Le Barc de Boutteville until 1896. Jean Peské lived in Montmartre, created decorative works and illustrations, and frequented cabarets and café-theaters. In 1905, he settled in Bois-le-Roi, where he painted trees in the Forest of Fontainebleau and members of his family. Peské traveled regularly to the Midi, notably to Collioure and Bormes, where he painted nature, the sea, and family scenes using a very colorful palette. In 1926 and 1927, he stayed in the Vendée and produced numerous landscapes. Jean Peské was a painter, printmaker, and illustrator. He produced numerous landscapes, many of which were painted from life. His brushstrokes were thick, and his paintings, bathed in natural light, combined warm and cool tones. “I would very much like to see my works one day succeed in moving the viewer as deeply as possible. The nobility of line and composition, the harmony and power of light—these are my ambitions,” wrote Jean Peské in his memoirs. He exhibited at the Salon d’Automne from 1905 to 1945, at the Salon des Tuileries from 1924 to 1949, and at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts until 1938. Numerous exhibitions were dedicated to him, notably in 1909, 1913, and 1921 at the Galerie Devambez; at the Galerie Bernheim in 1909, 1921, 1922, 1931, and 1972 at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, and at the Galerie Jean-Claude Bellier, which held exhibitions of his work in 1967, 1969, 1970, and 1990. Presented here is a significant and rare collection of works by Jean Peské from the artist’s family collection.