EUGÈNE ZAK | L'Ondine et le Pifferaro

Marcel Bernheim, Paris
Acquired from the above in May 1928 and by descent to the present owner

Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Eugeniusz Zak 1884-1926, 2003-04, no. 248, illustrated in the catalogue p. 172

The canvas is not lined. There is an uneven varnish preventing UV light from fully penetrating, however examination under UV light appears to reveal intermittent lines and dots of retouching along the extreme edges. There are a few hairline lines of stable craquelure in places, most predominately to the white pigment. There is some frame rubbing along the extreme edges. This work is in overall very good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Eugène Zak was born in 1884 in Mogilno, Belarus. Fascinated by Paris, he settled there and began his artistic training in Jean-Léon Gérôme’s studio in 1902. From 1904, he exhibited his works at the Salon d’Automne and in 1911, the Galerie Druet dedicated an exhibition to him. A founding member of the Society of Polish Artists, he developed friendships with Roman Kramsztyk, Waclaw Borowski, Melania Mutermilch and Zygmunt Menkes.   L’Ondine et le Pifferaro dated 1924-25, is a masterpiece from the painter’s mature period, when he was close to Marc Chagall. The musician playing the piffero, a rustic Italian flute, gazes at the water nymph stripped bare in front of him. References to ancient themes are infused with Zak’s very particular modernist style. His palette of sophisticated tones and the linear, elongated forms of his subjects create a unique atmosphere that is at once lyrical and bucolic, perfectly expressing the nostalgic revival of Classicism that characterizes his work. The following year, Zak died in his prime at the age of 41. He was survived by his wife Jadwika, who opened the famous "Galerie Zak" at 16 Rue de l’Abbaye in Saint-Germain-des-Près, Paris, in 1928.