Nicolas Wacker (1897 - 1987). Portrait Of A Woman, Circa 1930. Oil On Canvas.

Nicolas WACKER
(kyiv, Russian Empire 1897 - Paris 1987)
Portrait of a Woman, circa 1930

Oil on canvas
Bearing the studio stamp on the reverse
65 × 46 cm

Very good condition

Born in the former Russian Empire, Nicolas Wacker studied literature before leaving the Soviet Union using false German papers. Living in Berlin between 1922 and 1926, he studied applied arts, painting, and philosophy. He met Charlotte Henschel in Karl Hofer's studio, who encouraged him to move to Paris, where he settled in 1926. After attending André Lhote's academy, he assisted Roger Bissière at the Académie Ranson and became friends with Véra Pagava, Viera da Silva, Bertholle, Manessier, Le Moal, and Étienne-Martin.

While the 1930s were a dynamic period, with participation in the Salons and the Témoignage and Jeune Peinture exhibitions, the war brought his career to a halt. Arrested and interned several times for being considered German, he proved his Russian nationality in 1942. Once released, he was welcomed by Bissière, who brought together a group of artists living in the Lot region.

A painter of materials above all, Wacker explored the artisanal quality of art, the very materiality of paint: pigments, binders, supports, textures. His theoretical writings have been a reference for several generations of artists, and he notably founded the Painting Techniques workshop at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris after the war. His timeless work appears metaphysical. The silent figures seem profoundly contemplative. In the studio, time seems suspended in the mystery of painting.

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