View of a Port

The landscape must have been painted when the artist lived in France and painted in Normandy. He then abandoned any pretence of academic tradition for good and progressed from German expressionism to impressionism. At first sight, the picture shows nothing more than a quiet port at dawn. However, the silhouettes of the ships are accentuated with black contours against the bright sky and the sea is sensitively painted with bluish and rosy strokes, creating an atmosphere of dismay.

Text author Nijolė Tumėnienė

French Expressionism and the École de Paris. In the early 20th century, every young person starting out on a career as an artist dreamt of going to Paris and becoming famous. The large group of Litvaks who migrated there formed the nucleus of the École de Paris. Litvak artists brought Yiddish culture and the shtetl world-view to Paris, which combined with the modern art trends of the time (Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism and Fauvism) and formed a new trend, French Expressionism. This trend was popular between 1915 and 1940, and about 60 Litvaks and more than 150 Jewish painters from all over Europe were adherents of the Paris school.

French Expressionism brought fresh ideas, new motifs and artistic discoveries to art. The trend is characterised by elegance and restrained expression, flat forms, vibrant brushstrokes, light colours, and nuanced painting. The artists were interested in the life around them: views of the city and its squares, people enjoying themselves in cafés, the hustle and bustle of a market, and the razzle-dazzle of carousels and the circus. They painted portraits of their wives and children, streetwalkers and female nudes in studios, apples on windowsills, and flowers in vases.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

The landscape must have been painted when the artist lived in France and