first week of May is always an important time in the art market, because in this period the major auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's hold auction of Impressionist and Modern Art - an innovative European art of the late XIX - early XX century. Be sure to participate in these auctions work of artists of the Paris School, one of the brightest representatives of which was Moses Kisling. "Prince of Montparnasse" (so titled French monograph about him Jacques Lambert), the hero of many studies and monographs, and is very popular on the art market in Europe and America and not enough known in Russian artist presented at upcoming auctions "Portrait of Madame Judis» (Sotheby's, May 8 ) and still life "Flowers in a green vase» (Christie's, May 9).

• Moise Kisling Portrait of Madame Judis. 1946
  Oil on canvas. 55,6 x 38,1
  Estimate: 30 000-40 000 dollars
  Sotheby's. 08.05.2013. Lot 298
  Source: sothebys.com
• Moise Kisling Flowers in a Green Vase. 1936
  Oil on canvas. 55 x 38
  Estimate: 60 000-80 000 dollars
  Christie's. 09.05.2013. Lot 340
  Source: christies.com

Moses Moise (Moses) Kiesling (in Montparnasse his name was Kiki) was the son of a tailor Krakow January 21, 1891. Art education at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow under the supervision of Joseph Pankevicha fairly well-known Polish artist. Pankevich traveled extensively in Europe, tried to work in the style of the major artistic movements of the time - Impressionism, and then different kinds of modernism (including expressionism, cubism, fauvism in part). He persuaded the young Kisling that true art is created in Paris. Having followed his advice in 1910 Kisling went to Paris, where he settled on the street Beaux Arts.

first time in France Kiesling was left without the help of his teacher: Pankevich provided him with a letter of recommendation to the Shalom Ashe (1880-1957), Jewish writer and playwright, he was able to find a patron to Kisling, who agreed to pay him a scholarship to 150 francs a month the entire first year of residence in Paris.

second half of 1911, when the term of the agreement for the scholarship came to an end, Kisling went to Sulphur - known to many artists town in the Pyrenees, where people came to work and master of the previous generation - H. Matisse, A. Derain, and contemporaries Kisling - for example, by Pablo Picasso .

In 1912, Kiesling was lucky: in the same Sere he met with Adolf Basler, his first agent, which has agreed to purchase the work for 300 francs a month.

The following year, he returned to Paris, Kiesling settled in Montmartre, at No. 3 on the streets of Bar-Joseph, in the workshop, he spent 27 years, and before 1920 he shared it with Amedeo Modigliani.

• Amedeo Modigliani
  Sitting Moise Kisling. 1916
  Oil on board. 104,8 x 74,9
  Estimate: 6 000 000-8 000 000
  Result: 5616000 dollars
  Christies. 01.11.2005. Lot 44
  Source: christies.com

Moise Kisling quickly entered the circle of artists of Montparnasse. At first, he was helped in this friendship with M. Jacob and their own artistry. Bang in the entire forehead, haircut "on Joan of Arc" and the eternal overalls he owed the nickname "Eskimo mechanic».

art historian Jean-Paul Krespel Kiesling calls "exception to the general masses artists, most of them are not quite so eccentric, or at least the originals - a practical joker who loved to hit only the imagination of his friends. " Among Picasso, C. Van Dongen, Modigliani, O. Tsadkina and Survage Kiesling starred in the famous "Yastrebtsova evenings" in the house Sergei Yastrebtsova (better known under the pseudonym of Serge Fehr) , and his cousin d'Ettingen , which was one of the central figures in the literary and artistic life in Montparnasse until 1914. Together with F. Leger, I. Ehrenburg, Modigliani, Braque J., L. Syurvazh and O. Zadkine he appeared at parties Maria Vasilyeva ; was a regular at the best establishments of Montparnasse, like" Rotunda "and" Jockey ". Popular were his own tricks that he arranged every Wednesday right in his workshop, they visited Modigliani, Soutine , A. Derain, H. Grice, J. Paskin, etc.

became famous Kiesling, however, not only for its bonvivanstvom. Fame (with the help of the press) got his duel with the artist L. Gottlieb, held on June 12, 1914. Gottlieb volunteered to be seconded itself Diego Rivera, and this gave the event a special interest in the eyes of the public. The reason for the duel was not disclosed, so far we only know that it was a "matter of honor." Artists have agreed to fight to the first blood. Fight took place on the outskirts of Paris, a large gathering of witnesses and reporters. Kiesling was even slightly injured and proudly showed his wound photographers.

hard to believe that this way of life does not affect his work routine. To his creativity and the fabric of life Kiesling always treated very seriously. About Modigliani, with whom they had shared studio, Kiesling disapproving used to say: "When you get to live two hundred francs a month, and one hundred ninety spend on booze and drugs - you find yourself in poverty».

• Moise Kisling Still-life with fruit. 1912
  Oil on canvas. 65 x 81
  Estimate: 50 000-70 000 euros
  Result: 88,179 euros
  ArtCurial. 24.10.2012. Lot 386
  Source: artcurial.com

outbreak of World War II, apparently caught Kisling in Belgium, where he went in 1914 to go along with his agent A. Basler. At the first opportunity Kiesling returned to Paris and joined the Foreign Legion, which included fought until 1915, was seriously injured in the Somme, he was forced to return from the front.

In 1915, for their courage on the front of Moise Kisling received French citizenship.

Next, in 1916 became Kisling special. After returning from the hospital in Paris, to his own surprise, he became the owner of the inheritance 25,000 francs left him dead in the First World American sculptor Chapman, a friend Kisling times the pre-war Montparnasse fun exploring the institutions. Starting out as a volunteer in the French army, Chapman prudently made a will in which the plug and Kiesling. After receiving an inheritance Kiesling made a little trip to Spain.

the spring of 1916, he met with Rene Gros, a student of the Academy of Arts Ranson, the daughter of the commander of the Republican Army. Their wedding is August 12, 1917 was one of the most memorable celebrations of Montparnasse. Her celebrated for three days, moving from restaurants and other establishments in the studio Kisling, where guests danced to the then fashionable gramophone. Recall that Max Jacob sang a song, imitating artists from kafeshantanov and Modigliani decided to depict the ghost of "Macbeth", wrapped in a sheet with the marriage bed (by the way, the main element of the bride's dowry), for which he was put out. In the postwar years, almost to the end of the 1930s in Montparnasse and weeks went by without any costume or receiving the ball, and few of them did without Kisling ...

But not lived Kiesling only the art and fun in 1918's Gran Shomer, he opened a restaurant serving Polish cuisine "Vajiha", according to Crespel, who had some popularity.

In November 1919, in the gallery "Drouot" a very successful first solo exhibition Kisling: it showed the early stuff, time, hobbies Cézanne, Cubism - in other words, the time of the search of his identity. Stylistically, the work has not yet determined the early period presented to the public a "set" of genres that will prevail in the works Kisling all subsequent years - still life (mostly floral), the landscape and, of course, nude.

• Moise Kisling Provencal landscape. 1918
  Oil on canvas. 54 x 66
  Estimate: 20 000-30 000 euros
  Result: 26 500 euros
  Artcurial-Briest-Le Fur-Poulain-F.Tajan Paris. 10.12.2002
  Lot 500 Source: wikipaintings.org
• Moise Kisling Portrait of Jean Cocteau. 1916
  Oil on canvas. 73 x 60
  Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
  Source: wikipaintings.org

It is becoming a popular and sought-after artist Jean Cocteau him posing, M. Laurence, with the famous Kiki of Montparnasse. His exhibitions are held in numerous galleries in Paris and throughout Europe.

In 1920, the total studio and friendship with Modigliani, having a clear personal vision of art, have helped Kiesling develop their own artistic language - lyrical expressionism, a much more realistic than Modigliani's style, sometimes even coming to the salon and have exaggerated naturalism.

Moise Kisling Kiki from decollete 1918 Oil on canvas. 55 x 38,1 Estimate: 40 000-60 000 dollars Christie's. 2.11.2011. Lot 414 Source: Moise Kisling Nude. 1920 Oil on canvas. 73 x 54 Estimate: 50 000-70 000 dollars Result: 68,500 dollars Christie's. 09.11.1999. Lot 322 Source:

As in most works by Modigliani, in the nude, and portraits Kisling dominated by elongated lines, elongated body proportions in simplified to the extreme background. His work is uneventful, there is no movement, everything and everyone - man and nature - self-absorbed. Especially highlighted people's faces - a limp and a pensive expression looking (inward), a huge, wide-eyed with languishing. Vigor of his paintings makes perhaps the only color - bright, contrasting, vibrant and glowing colors of his works practically do not mix, but only a hazy along the lines of contour drawing. Perhaps this is a contradictory balance between tranquility and static nature of the plot and exuberance, dynamism and liveliness of colors in the works Kisling catches the viewer's eye and allows you to emphasize his paintings of the total number of works by artists of the "second tier" (which some researchers attribute of our today's hero).

In 1913, Moise first arrived in Sanary-sur-Mer, a seaside town in Provence, and then come back here every summer to work on. Those summer arrivals earned him the nickname of L. Fujita "Summer Kiki", in contrast to the "Winter-Kiki" Van Dongen and just "Kiki" - Model with Montparnasse: « Winter-Kiki envelops its splendor luxurious white beard. Spends the night in a luxurious mansion, surrounded by thousands of secular lions and lionesses. Summer Kiki sits near two frolicking boys, smoking a pipe and dreams about something in his villa in the Midi. Three Kiki - Kiki Van Dongen, Kiesling and Kiki Kiki Kiki - the world-famous celebrities and truly delicious ».

wife of artist Rene and his sons Guy and Jean regularly lived in Sanary all 1920, and in 1932, Moise and Renee bought a house in Sanary «La Baie» with workshop and views of the Gulf of Bandol. Hence, in 1940, after the capitulation of the French army, he, along with his wife and two children fled to Spain and Portugal, and later moved to New York and then settled in California.

In New York and Washington, with the success of his show going. He has worked as a portrait painter, received a large number of orders. Stylistically, the portraits of the period are slightly different from their predecessors: they are an artist much more inclined to realism than in earlier works, but kislingovskaya otherworldly dreaminess in the look model remained the same. At the same time, the artist has written numerous still lifes with his favorite motif - mimosa.

In 1946, Kiesling returned from America to his home in Sanary-sur-Mer. In this house lived Kiesling until his death on April 29, 1953. The street on which the «La Baie», named after the artist.

Today Kiesling quite in demand and collectors, and the public, his works often appear in the catalogs of the most respectable auction houses major museums and exhibitions world.

Moise Kisling Miriam. 1950 Oil on canvas. 162 x 97 Estimate: 800-158 105 700 dollars Result: 191,762 dollar ArtCurial. 21.03.2012. Lot 29 Source: artcurial.com

Moise Kisling Still life fish. 1929 Oil on canvas. 81.5 x 100 Sovcom. 25.10.12. Lot 75 Estimate: 3200 000-4 800 000 rubles Result: 3,000,000 rubles Source: sovcom.ru