Chaïm Soutine is one of the most extraordinary painters of modernism and his work has inspired dozens of artists. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humblebæk, Denmark, is now dedicating the first exhibition in Northern Europe to him. Chaïm Soutine opens on February 9.
The first third of the 20th century was bursting with famous artists who broke new ground and were among the most influential of all. Less well known today is one of the most extreme expressionists: Chaïm Soutine, from what is now Belarus, who had a stellar career in Paris in the 1920s. His intense landscapes, portraits and still lifes, which were perceived as disturbing, delighted many collectors then as they do today. These are images that do not flatter, harmonize or gloss over, but instead mercilessly reveal the tragedy of human existence - such as the mental disability of a shy teenager sitting there or the physical decline of a once celebrated actress. Soutine's paintings later served as inspiration for the Abstract Expressionists in particular. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is now dedicating its first exhibition in Northern Europe to this unique painter: Chaïm Soutine opens on February 9 in Humblebæk near Copenhagen. Some 70 works by the artist, which have been loaned by museums and private collectors worldwide, will be on display until July 14.
Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943) grew up in a poor, Jewish Orthodox family near Minsk. He began an apprenticeship as a photographer at the age of 14 and attended a private painting school in his spare time. He was eventually accepted for a three-year course at the Vilnius Academy of Art. After graduating in 1913, Soutine moved to Paris, where he lived in poor circumstances. It took 10 years for his works to find favor. Then his success continued, and he even had several solo exhibitions in London, New York and Washington, D.C. Under the German occupation of France from 1940, Soutine's artistic career came to an end, and as a Jew he had to hide in small villages. He died in 1943 during a stomach operation and was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.
The current exhibition was created in collaboration with the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, where it was on display in 2023, and the Kunstmuseum Bern, which will be presenting the works from August 16.
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