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WHITFORD F I N E A R T 6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LO N D O N S W 1 Y 6 B N TEL.+44(0)20 7930 9332 FA X . + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 9 3 0 5 5 7 7 info@whitfordfineart.com w w w. w h i t f o r d f i n e a r t . c o m
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DRAWINGS and WATERCOLOURS 1935-1952 THE PARIS YEARS
12th February – 5th March 2010 All works are for sale
WHITFORD F I N E A R T
6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BN TEL. +44 (0)20 7930 9332 EMAIL info@whitfordfineart.com www.whitfordfineart.com
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Polka c.1936 Black ink and wash 62 x 47 cm EXHIBITED: 2004, Caziel, The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, London. 2006, Caziel: Centenary Retrospective Exhibition , Whitford Fine Art, London.
Front cover: Acrobatic Dancers, c.1937, watercolour, 40 x 29 cm, (cat. no. 1). Back cover: Reclining Nude, c.1947, charcoal, 30 x 47cm, (cat. no. 32).
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CAZIEL: DRAWINGS AND WATERCOLOURS 1935-1952 THE PARIS YEARS Caziel adhered to the ‘Ecole de Paris’ years prior to settling in Paris in 1937. He attended the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, 1931-36, where the influence of French Post-Impressionist painting was omnipresent. Revered masters amongst the students and significant influences on Caziel’s early development as a painter included Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse. Many works of this period show a clear Cézannesque approach in technique and colouring (cat. 3, 5, 10 and 11), whereas his Fauve designs for the ballet (cat. 7, 12, 22, 23 and 30) ar e in the spirit of La Danse, painted by Matisse in 1910. The rhythmical succession of floating nudes expresses feelings of emotional liber ations and hedonism, and e voke pagan rites as celebrated in Igor Str avinsky’s ballet ‘Rite of Spring’ (1910-1913), as w ell as religious Apocalyptic beliefs as illustrated in the 11th c entury manuscript of Saint-Sever Beatus. In a few works, Caziel united the Post-Impressionist vocabulary with imagery and stylistic elements borrowed from Polish folklore (cat. 9, 13 and 16). Caziel’s aspiration to emigrate to Paris finally came true in 1937 when he r eceived a bursary. In 1939 Edouard Vuillard intervened with the Polish authorities to grant Caziel permission to stay in Paris. When in 1939 Germany declared war, Caziel voluntarily joined the Polish army in France. The 1940 Franco-German Armistice, however, forced the Polish army to disband and pushed Caziel t o flee with his Jewish wife, the painter Lutka Pink. Blaise Cendr ars welcomed them in Aix-en-Provence, where they stayed on and off until the autumn of 1946. It was her e that Caziel had the opportunity t o study the work of Cézanne in depth, as sho wn in Five Bathers (cat. 15). During his time in Aix, Caziel met Le Corbusier with whom he e xchanged ideas about the int egration of painting and architecture. Caziel’s instinctive feeling for proportion had already earned him se veral prestigious commissions for frescoes back in Poland (cat. 5) and, upon his return from Aix to Paris in 1946, he was commissioned the design of the Polish pavilion for the UNESCO International Exhibition of Modern Art. Despit e appealing offers of important teaching posts from the Polish government, Caziel remained in Paris to protect Lutka from having to return to the country where all her relatives had been murdered in Auschwitz. Life in post-war Paris was hard but Caziel was stimulated by a search for a new form of pictorial space and worked profusely. During his search for a different dimension, resulting in paintings where line and colour do not flatten the picture plane but projects it in front of it instead, Caziel’s career gathered momentum. His first one-man show at the Galerie Allard in 1947 was f ollowed by an invit ation to join Picasso, Hans Hartung, Vict or Vasarely, Alfred Manessier and others to exhibit at the prestigious ‘Salon de mai’. Throughout his five-year close friendship with Picasso, 1947-1951, Caziel’s stylistic preoccupations were divided. Strong lyrical and expressive compositions much indebted to Picasso (cat.14, 19, 20, 24 and 32) alternate with works revealing his quest for Abstraction (cat. 8, 9, 17, 18, 25, 26, 28 and 29). In 1951, Caziel more or less gave up figuration and joined the ‘Groupe Espace’, whose program of uniting Constructivist art with architecture, promoted the creation of a new environment appropriate to the new society of the modern age. By 1952, Lutka had left for the United States and Caziel met the y oung Scottish painter Catherine Sinclair, with whom he started a new life in Ponthévrard just outside of Paris. During his years in Paris, Caziel was at the heart of the de velopments of the ‘Ecole de Paris’. His move to Ponthévrard did not mean the end but the beginning of a ne w chapter in his life-long drive to follow his path of excellence. An Jo Fermon, February 2010
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Seated Nude c.1936 Watercolour 29 x 23 cm
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Reclining Nude c.1937 Pencil 31 x 47.5 cm
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Study for fresco for Pop Ivan Observatory c.1938 Watercolour 45 x 41 cm EXHIBITED: 2006, Caziel: Centenary Retrospective Exhibition , Whitford Fine Art, London. LITERATURE: Caziel: Paintings from 1935-1949 , exhibition catalogue with introduction by Dr. ZAGRODSKI, Whitford Fine Art, London, 1995, ill. pl.6; J. PERRY.The Grand Play of Light. The Art & Life of Caziel . London, 1997, ill. pl.10.
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Woman Seated c.1939 Charcoal 43 x 28 cm
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Paradise Regained (study for stage design) c.1937 Watercolour 21 x 42 cm
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Night and Day c.1950 Pencil 16 x 24 cm
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Mural design for a gymnasium 1948 Gouache 29 x 49 cm
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10. Study for fresco c.1938 Pencil over watercolour 30 x 24 cm
11. Study for fresco c.1938 Pencil over watercolour 30 x 24 cm
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12. Paradise Lost (study for stage design) c.1937 Watercolour 32 x 37 cm
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13. Star Worshipper c.1936 Watercolour 23.5 x 15.5 cm
14. Satyrs and Wood Nymphs c.1947 Pencil 43.5 x 56 cm EXHIBITED: 2006, Caziel: Centenary Retrospective Exhibition , Whitford Fine Art, London.
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15. Five Bathers 1941 Gouache and watercolour 48 x 54.5 cm
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16. Woman with Mythological Bird c.1939 Charcoal 49.5 x 25 cm
17. Composition XII-49 1949 Gouache 61 x 22 cm
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18. Composition #43 1951 Charcoal 47 x 62 cm
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19. Rape of Europa c.1943 Pencil 39 x 26 cm
20. Centaur c.1943 Ink and wash 49.5 x 32 cm
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21. Odalisque II c.1938 Gouache 32 x 49 cm
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22. Female Stream of Life (study for stage design) c.1937 Watercolour 30 x 37 cm
23. Male Stream of Life (study for stage design) c.1937 Watercolour 30 x 36 cm LITERATURE: J. PERRY. The Grand Play of Light. The Art & Life of Caziel . London, 1997, ill. pl.11 p.24.
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24. Figure Composition 1951 Ink and wash 50 x 39.5 cm LITERATURE: J. PERRY. The Grand Play of Light. The Art & Life of Caziel . London, 1997, ill. pl.32 p.43.
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25. Composition c.1950 Charcoal and watercolour 48 x 63 cm EXHIBITED: 2008, Caziel: ‘Je Suis Abstrait’- Works from the Fifties , Whitford Fine Art, London. LITERATURE: Caziel: ‘Je Suis Abstrait’ - Works from the Fifties , exhibition catalogue with introduction by A. J. FERMON, Whitford Fine Art, London, 2008, ill. c at. no. 23.
26. Composition 49.XII 1949 Gouache 41 x 61 cm
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27. Circus Dancers c.1937 Watercolour and glitter 30 x 30 cm
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28. Composition 49.XI 1949 Gouache and pencil 48 x 63 cm
29. Composition 11.1949 c.1949 Gouache and pencil 47 x 62 cm EXHIBITED: 2008, Caziel: ‘Je Suis Abstrait’ - Works from the Fifties , London. LITERATURE: Caziel: ‘Je Suis Abstrait’ - Works from the Fifties , Whitford Fine Art, London, 2008, exhibition catalogue with introduction by A. J. FERMON, ill. c at. no. 40.
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30. The Garden of Eden (study for stage design) c.1937 Watercolour 33 x 41 cm
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31. Fear c.1945 Ink and wash 61 x 37.5 cm
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CHRONOLOGY and EXHIBITIONS 1906 1914-20 1931-36 1932-37 1937 1939 1940 1941 1944-46 1946
1947 1948-56 1951 1952 1953 1957 1958 1963 1966 1968 1966-68 1969 1978 1983 1988 1990 1991 1992 1995 1997 1998 2001 2004 2006 2008
Born in Sosnowiec, Poland, on 16th June. Spent his childhood and y outh moving around in Russia, as his family escaped from the advancing German forces and subsequently had to hide from the Communists. Studied painting at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art. Met Jewish painter Lutka Pink. Exhibited at Loza Wolnomalarska (Lodge of Free Painters). Won a State Scholarship to Italy and Paris. Settled with Lutka Pink in Paris. Married Lutka Pink. Volunteered for the Polish Army in France. After France signed the Armistice with Germany, the Polish army was disbanded and all Polish soldiers were advised to make their way to the South of France or Spain. Caziel and Lutka were sheltered by Blaise Cendr ars in Aix-en-Provence before being moved by the French Resitance to the Auvergne. Caziel and Lutka moved back to Aix-en-Provence. Caziel and Lutka mo ved back to Paris. Despite being promised important teaching posts as well as state sponsorship for his work by the P olish authorities, Caziel chose t o stay in Paris, to protect Lutka from the shock of having to return to the country where she lost all her relatives in Auschwitz. Designed the Polish Pavilion for UNESCO International Exhibition of Modern Art. First one-man show at Galerie Allard, Paris. Met Picasso with whom he developed a long friendship. Exhibited annually at the “Salon de Mai” in Paris. The Musée National d’Art Moderne purchased one of his monumental canvasses. Fell in love with the Scottish painter Catherine Sinclair. Together they moved to Ponthévrard, just outside Paris. The Vatican commissioned four large paintings for their Museum of Modern Religious Art. Designed frescoes for French architect Jean Ginsberg. Married Catherine Sinclair. Catherine and Caziel’s daughter Clementina was born. Exterior design for a fresco for the Atomic Energy Commission at Tollemache House, Thurso. First one-man show in London hosted by the Grabowski Gallery. Second one-man show at the Grabowski Gallery, London. Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Moved his family from Ponthévrard to Somerset, England. Exhibited at the National Museum, Warsaw – Circle of Tadeusz Pruszkowski. Exhibited works on paper at the Summer Exhibition at F air Maids House Gallery, Perth. Died in Somerset. Memorial Exhibition at the Polish Cultural Institute, London. Exhibition at the Butlin Gallery, Dillington House College, Ilminster, Somerset. Exhibition of works from 1945 – 1988 at the Ro yal West of England Academy, Bristol. Exhibition Caziel: Substance and Light, Whitford Fine Art, London. Exhibition Caziel: Drawings from the Forties, Whitford Fine Art, London. Exhibition Caziel: Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London. Retrospective Exhibition at the National Museum, Warsaw. Exhibition Contour and Line: Selection of Works on Paper from 1965, Whitford Fine Art, London. Exhibition Caziel: Abstraction 1963 – 1967 , Whitford Fine Art, London. Retrospective Exhibition at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, London. Centenary Retrospective Exhibition, Whitford Fine Art, London. Exhibition Caziel: ‘Je suis abstrait’ - Works from the Fifties , Whitford Fine Art, London.
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WORKS
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Acrobatic Dancers (front cover) Polka Seated Nude Reclining Nude Study for fresco for Pop Ivan Observatory Woman Seated Paradise Regained Night and Day Mural Design for a Gymnasium Study for fresco Study for fresco Paradise Lost Star Worshipper Satyrs and Wood Nymphs Five Bathers Woman with Mythological Bird Composition XII-49 Composition #43 Centaur Rape of Europa Odalisque II Female Stream of Life Male Stream of Life Figure Composition Composition Composition 49.XII Circus Dancers Composition 49.XI Composition 11.1949 The Garden of Eden Fear Reclining Nude (back cover)
All works are signed or have the Studio stamp
We are grateful to the assistance provided by the Artist’s daughter, Clementina Stiegler © Whitford Fine Art Researched by An Jo Fermon Design and Printing by Artmedia Press Ltd • London
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Caziel Covers
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WHITFORD F I N E A R T 6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LO N D O N S W 1 Y 6 B N TEL.+44(0)20 7930 9332 FA X . + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 9 3 0 5 5 7 7 info@whitfordfineart.com w w w. w h i t f o r d f i n e a r t . c o m