Włodzimierz Terlikowski, PORTRET JEANNE LEYGUES, 1920

55.5 x 46.7cm - oil, canvas signed p.d.: 1920 | W Terlikowski



Jeanne Leygues, shown in the painting, became Wlodzimierz Terlikowski's second wife in 1924. During World War I, it was her mother who bailed out the Terlikowskis, who found themselves in a very difficult financial situation. Mrs. Leygues, at the time, purchased several paintings by the artist. Contacts between Terlikowski and Mr. and Mrs. Leygues became more frequent over the years. Georges Leygues, the father of the portrayed, held many high positions, was Minister of Education, twice Minister of the Fleet, and from September 1920 to January 1921 was Prime Minister of France. It was thanks to his patronage that the artist received the Legion of Honor in 1920, and had an exhibition at the Le Boétie gallery the following year.

Wlodzimierz Terlikowski (Poraj near Lodz 1873 - Paris 1951) - a painter associated with the École de Paris community - was essentially self-taught, although he temporarily studied in Munich and Paris. He traveled extensively; outside Europe he was in India, North Africa, Australia and New Zealand. From 1911 he lived permanently in Paris, where he had several solo exhibitions. He also exhibited in Venice, Brussels and several times in Poland. His paintings are distinguished by his individual painting style - in landscapes, still lifes and portraits he used vivid, saturated and often sharply contrasting colors. He applied paint with a broad brush or spatula, giving his paintings a rich and dense, fleshy painterly texture.