Georges Merkel
(Lwiw 1881 - 1976 Vienna)
Georges Merkel was born in a modest family in Lemberg, nowadays the city Lwiw in the Western Ukraine. He earned his living by decorating apartments and began his training at the School of Decorative Arts in Lodz.
In 1903, thanks to a friend's financial support, he enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow and was awarded the silver medal two years later. Between 1905 - 1908 and 1909 - 1914, he lived in Paris and devoted himself to the French Classicism and the art of Paul Cezanne. During the First World War, Merkel was enlisted in the Austrian army and was seriously wounded. In 1917 he underwent a brain surgery to avoid the risk of blindness. During the interwar period, Merkel recited in Vienna and was a member of the artist's association Hagenbund. In 1938, his art was defamed as "degenerated" by the Nazi Regime forcing his emigration to France where he took refuge in Montauban. After the Liberation, he went back to Paris and settled in Le Plessis - Robinson. Since 1945, Merkel was a member of the Viennese Secession and in 1961 he was honoured with the City of Vienna Prize. In 1972, he returned to Vienna where he spent the last years of his life.
"Portrait of a Man", 1906, pastel on paper, 54 x 43 cm, Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
"Allegorical Self-Portrait", c. 1930, oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm (31 7/8 x 39 3/8 in), private collection
Auction results
ARTWORKS of CONTEMPORARY POLISH ARTISTS for SALE
    
ARTWORKS of CONTEMPORARY POLISH ARTISTS for SALE
|
