Michel Kikoïne (1892 Gomel near Mogilev - 1968 Paris), "Church on the Hill," ca. 1918-20

Origin
collection of art collector Jonas Netter (1867-1946), Paris
private collection, Europe
Christie's, London, June 2012
institutional collection, Poland

Literature
Masters of the École de Paris. Villa la Fleur, edited by Artur Winiarski, Warsaw 2016, p. 190 (ill.)

Biography
Painter of Belarusian origin, associated with the environment of the Ecole de Paris. He attended the private school of Jakub Kruger in Minsk, where he became friends with Chaim Soutin. The two painters studied together at the Vilna Drawing School in 1908-11. In 1913 he went to Paris, where he continued his painting studies with Ferdinand Cormon at the Ecole des Beaux - Arts. Kikonine's works were very popular and respected in the circles of Parisian marchers; his work was especially appreciated by Leon Zamaron and Eugene Descaves. He exhibited at Paris salons from 1912, and participated in group exhibitions in Geneva, New York, Chicago, and also presented his paintings in Warsaw. He painted landscapes, initially in bright colors, later expressive portraits, still lifes and genre scenes.