Marc Sterling (1895-1976) - Goldfish In A Jar - Oil On Canvas Dated 1959

Oil on canvas by artist Marc Sterling (1895-1976) depicting goldfish in a jar. This decorative composition, dated 1959 on the reverse, illustrates an intimate scene treated with a modern sensibility characteristic of post-war painting. The play of glass transparencies, water reflections and colorful touches of fish bring rhythm and luminosity to the whole.

The work is dated on the back "1959". The ensemble has a fine decorative presence and would fit perfectly into a modern interior as well as a hanging of twentieth-century art. Condition is good, with light age marks consistent with age.

Interesting painting for its classical subject revisited in a 1950s spirit, combining simplicity of composition and chromatic effectiveness.

Artist: Marc Sterling
Technique: oil on canvas
Date: 1959, dated on reverse

Condition: good overall condition

Dimensions : 22 cm x 16 cm


Marc (born Mordkha) Sterling was born on July 15, 1895 in Pryluky, a suburb of Minsk, in the Russian Empire. He was introduced to art at an early age, becoming an apprentice in an icon painter's studio at the age of twelve. After a spell at the Odessa Academy and the Vkhoutemas in Moscow, he developed a desire to move to Paris. In 1920, he decided to leave Russia. His first stop was Germany, where he met Barbe Cyrla "Basia" Kujalnik (1897-1941), a Polish student with whom he married and had two daughters, Rachel (1924-2014) and Michelle (1930-). In 1923, the couple moved to Paris, where Marc frequented the Montparnasse art scene and quickly became part of the École de Paris group. His first solo exhibition took place at Galerie Bernheim in 1928.

In 1941, Marc was one of the 4,000 men arrested during the August 20 roundup in the XI^e arrondissement (Marc was arrested on August 21). Interned for seven months at Drancy, he was released on November 4, 1941.

Marc takes part in numerous collective exhibitions, demonstrating his membership of various artists' groups, often united around questions of identity. In particular, he joined the first Association des Artistes Juifs de Paris and was a member of APSJF, Association des Artistes Peintres et Sculpteurs Juifs de France (formerly GAJEF).

In 1953, Marc met Eliane Meier (1927-1981), a sculptor who was a pupil of Ossip Zadkine. They married and settled in Peseux, Switzerland, Eliane's home country, before returning to France three years later, in 1956. On his return, Marc continued to exhibit, both in solo and group shows. He died on September 7, 1976 in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

His work is distinguished by a wide variety of styles and techniques (gouaches, etchings, oils, washes). In the 1930s, he adopted a softer, more lyrical style before turning to dreamlike realism in the 1940s. After the Second World War, he explored lighter, more poetic compositions, incorporating fantastical and imaginary elements, bathed in a highly personal atmosphere.