Nicolas de Staël

Nicolas de Staël is a Russian artist, born in 1914 and passed away in 1955 at the age of 41. A noble background, he was exiled with them until 1917 due to the Bolshevik revolution.His parents died in Poland two years later. He moved to Belgium with his adoptive family, the latter encouraged him to undertake engineering studies. But once he graduated, he turned towards painting and joined the Fine Arts school in Brussels in 1933.

His career as a painter was short but rich. The artist evolved constantly and refused to join a specific current and even make a choice between abstraction and figuration. "I am not against abstract or figurative painting. A painting needs to be abstract and figurative at the same time. Abstract as a wall, figurative as a representation of space".

His initial career was marked with dark colors, whereas the following paintings were bright. Various themes appear in his creations, an excuse to explore nude or even landscapes.

During several years, Nicolas de Staël had financial difficulties with his bank. He became successful soon after his death: several American museums exhibit his work like the Houston Fine Arts Museum in Texas. The artist's painting went through several prestigious retrospective in France at the Grand Palais in 1981 and Centre Pompidou in 2003.