Bolesław Biegas

Studio of the artist

Bequeathed to the Polish Historical and Literary Society of the Polish Library, Paris in 1954 (inventory Szymanski no. 259)

Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva (purchased from the above in the early 1970s)

Galerie Valois, Paris (purchased from the above in the early 1980s)

Painted circa 1920-1922, the present work is part of the series of spherical portraits by Biegas for which he is best known.

Bolesław Biegas was a Polish sculptor, painter and writer. Initially affiliated with the Symbolist movement, Biegas gradually embraced a more modern, geometric style. Having moved to Paris to further his artistic education and career, Biegas drew inspiration from Cubism and Futurism. The Salon de la Section d'Or of October 1912 had a formative influence on the artist. This exhibition of two hundred cubist works, held at Galerie la Boétie in Paris, showcased the work of artists such as František Kupka, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Fernand Leger, Robert Delaunay and Archipenko. From 1912 onwards, circular forms appeared in the works of these prominent avant-garde artists. From this nucleus, a number of new artistic movements originated that would have a noticeable impact on Biegas, such as Orphism and Spherism.

Spherism, in which figures are composed entirely of circles, became a hallmark of Biegas’ artistic output from the mid 1910s. In 1919, Biegas exhibited forty of these spherical works at the Sociéte d'Art Tanit in the Pavillon de Magny on Avenue Victor Hugo. Spherical Portrait of Countess Maria Kwilecka is part of this series of spherical portraits. While it closely relates to the contemporary experiments of Kupka, Gleizes and Delaunay, it also has clear parallels with Italian Futurism and foreshadows Abstraction.

To be included in the Bolesław Biegas catalogue raisonne of paintings by Xavier Deryng and the Comite Biegas.