Stanislaw Grabowski (1901-1957), Self-portrait and Sleeping Woman (double-sided painting)

Watercolor, paper, Self-portrait and sleeping woman (double-sided painting)
Dimensions: 33.5 x 23.5 cm, 46 x 36.5 cm (with frame)
Provenance: Alfred and Maria Tarski, Berkeley, California (USA)

Stanislaw Grabowski (1901-1957) was a Polish painter whose life and work were mainly associated with France. Born in Poland, he took his first steps in art in Russia and Warsaw, and in 1926 moved to Paris with his wife, painter Nadia Chodasiewicz. There he continued his studies at the prestigious Academie Moderne under Fernand Leger and Amédée Ozenfant. After separating from his wife, who later married Ferdinand Leger, Grabowski intensified his artistic activity, creating works with a distinctly individual character. His paintings, often oscillating between reality and poetic vision, reflected the artist's changing emotional states. After the war, he returned to Paris, where he lived in the artistic community of la Ruche, which had previously housed the studios of Chagall, Soutine, Kandinsky, among others. Landscape was the main subject of his painting interests. At first, he painted color-saturated Provençal landscapes; later, the form became more dramatic and expressive, and the coloring became darker. He also painted still lifes and scenes in interiors. He exhibited primarily at salons in Paris. According to Professor Władysława Jaworska, Grabowski's paintings are characterized by a wealth of artistic tendencies, which were always subordinated to his personal vision.