Eugeniusz Eibisch, STILL NATURE

- The Collection of Ursula and Piotr Hofman, edited by Ursula Hofman, Warsaw 2013, p. 49;

- Szymon Mondzain and the École de Paris. Polish avant-garde painting of the second half of the 20th century. Collection of Ursula and Piotr Hofman, Abbotsford Palace - Department of Modern Art of the National Museum in Gdansk 21 II 2015 - 22 IV 2015;

- The Collection of Urszula and Piotr Hofman, edited by Urszula Hofman, Warsaw 2018, p. 47;

- My Name Is Red / My Name Is Red, State Gallery of Art in Sopot, 26 IX 2019 - 12 I 2020;

- From Boznanska to Fangor. Collection of Ursula and Piotr Hofman, District Museum, Nowy Sącz 20 III 2020 - 31 VIII 2020.

Under items 52 to 68, we present to you carefully selected works by artists from the École de Paris circle, which are part of the collection of Ursula and Piotr Hofman. The family collection is subject to constant development, expansion and reconstruction aimed at seeking new directions. It is the result of an evolving way of perceiving, understanding and learning about art.

Ursula and Piotr Hofman's collection grows out of their fascination with the paintings of Polish-Jewish artists associated with the pre-war creative community in Paris. It was the activities of the Parisian artistic émigrés - centered around Montparnasse and co-creating one of the most important phenomena in the art of the first half of the 20th century - that became the foundation of their collection.

The first painting purchased, which gave the impetus and started the adventure and passion of interacting with art, was one of Simon Mondzain's canvases. A painter who combines the geometrizing construction of form with the sensibility of Krakow modernism. His still lifes, landscapes and portraits show a fascination with Cézanne and the tradition of French Post-Impressionism. Mondzain still holds a prominent place in the entire collection of works by artists such as Eugeniusz Eibisch, Rajmund Kanelba, Henryk Epstein, Henryk Hayden, Maurice Blond, Dora Kucembianka, Alexander Blonder, Henryk Berlewi, Zdzislaw Cyankiewicz, Zygmunt Landau, Jean Peské and Joachim Weingart, presented next.

Of interest are two canvases by Dora Kucembianka, an artist who for many years remained in the shadows and rarely appeared on the auction market. Her paintings show inspiration from Post-Impressionism, Colorism and an interest in a synthetic approach to form. She painted primarily portraits, still lifes and landscapes - subjects characteristic of École de Paris artists - focusing on compositional harmony and subtle color relationships. Her paintings are characterized by balanced construction, softness of modeling and moodiness, which gives the representations a lyrical character. Today we have the opportunity to present her work to a wider audience and rediscover the silhouette of this interesting painter.

All the presented canvases from the collection of Ursula and Piotr Hofman, carefully selected from an artistic and historical point of view, become an opportunity to spread knowledge of the artistic milieu that made Paris the world capital of the avant-garde in the early 20th century. They develop a sensitivity to the paintings of the École de Paris, which shaped the modern view of color, form and emotion in art.

Each of the paintings on offer is not only an artistic work, but also a testimony to an extraordinary time and place where diverse cultures, ideas and creative personalities met. Mr. and Mrs. Hofman invite you to co-create this history and join them in their mission to keep alive the memory of the unique phenomenon that was École de Paris painting.

Eugeniusz Eibisch (Lublin 1896 - Warsaw 1987) painter and pedagogue - in 1912-22 he was a student of Jacek Malczewski and Wojciech Weiss at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. In 1922, as a scholarship holder of the French government, he went to Paris. He actively participated in the artistic life there, entering the circle of École de Paris and enjoying the friendship of many painters (including G. Braque, Ch. Soutine, L. Marcoussis). Highly regarded by critics, he exhibited extensively in Parisian Salons and galleries.
In 1939, he returned to Poland to take up the chair of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, which, however, only became possible in 1945, simultaneously with his appointment as rector of the Academy. From 1950 he was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. The subjects of Eibisch's paintings were still lifes, landscapes and portraits, especially of women. Early works reveal Formist influences, while later works bring the artist closer to the broad current of Polish Colorism.
Over time, the shapes of the painted figures or objects are increasingly lost in favor of color, until finally the artist's paintings become self-contained, almost abstract color compositions.