View Of Collioure

Willy Mucha, born on April 16, 1905, in Warsaw, Poland, then part of the Russian Empire, and died on March 2, 1995, in Paris,[1] was a painter belonging to the Polish Surrealist Abstraction movement. Born in Warsaw, he began studying drawing and music in Poland and continued his studies in Bohemia, then in Russia and Germany. After his father's death in the early 1920s, he abruptly left his family and Poland for France to pursue his artistic career. After enrolling at the University of Caen, he moved to the capital to become part of what was known as the "School of Paris." In 1936, he discovered Collioure "on the route of the Spanish Civil War," and settled there in 1939 after the defeat. With the Torcatis network, he facilitated the passage of anti-fascists through the Banyuls Pass. In 1943, threatened with denunciation, he was sent to join the French Resistance in the Aveyron region. As soon as the Liberation began, he returned to Collioure. In Montparnasse, Mucha kept his Parisian studio. His exhibitions took him around the world. He achieved his greatest successes in the United States, and his friends encouraged him to settle there. He frequented several artists in the art world, including Raoul Dufy, Max Ernst, Roberto Matta, Camille Bryen, André Masson, Édouard Pignon, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and Joan Ponç. Despite his solitary and contemplative nature, his presence alongside influential figures in the art world earned him a reputation as a socialite. Throughout his life, Mucha remained deeply connected to Collioure, which continued to nourish his work. Discreet about his life, he explained: “With words, you would only have anecdotes. The essence of my life is in my work.” With frame: Height 35.7cm, Width 29.2cm. Without frame: Height 22cm, Width 16cm.