4309 - Paul Merwart, Slavs by the Stove

Paul Merwart, Slavs by the Stove In a parlour, two men and a woman are gathered around a table in front of a stove; on the floor in front of them lie an axe and hunting equipment; both men are smoking and are dressed in Slavic traditional costume; an academic genre painting from the French Gründerzeit period, a rare subject from the artist’s Polish homeland; he otherwise painted chiefly in Paris and the French colonies; oil on wood, signed and dated 1887 in the lower right-hand corner; on the reverse, excerpts from the artist’s biography; minor signs of ageing, retouching, frame slightly dented, inner dimensions 76.5 x 45.5 cm. Artist information: Franco-Polish painter and illustrator (1855 in Marianówka - 1902 in Saint-Pierre, Martinique), son of a French soldier who served in the Crimean Wars and a Polish woman; studied in Paris under Henri Lehmann, Isidore Pils and Ferdinand Humbert; made his debut in 1878 at the World’s Fair in Paris; travelled to Russia and Austria-Hungary as a correspondent for *Le Monde*; undertook several journeys to the French colonies, maintained close contact with Polish artists living in France, was a member of various artists’ societies in France and Poland, but was particularly successful as a portrait painter and painter of colonial scenes. Source: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Online.