Jules Pascin (1885–1930)

Title: Two Female Nudes
Medium: Etching on paper
Date: Plate created by Pascin in 1929
Original etching, printed by the artist’s estate around 1980.
Edition: Numbered 81/100 lower left
Signature: Stamped signature lower right
Plate size: 18 × 18 cm
Sheet size: 57 × 38 cm

Description

This etching depicts two standing female nudes, full and voluptuous, a theme dear to Pascin. On the left, a young woman with a slender body and a restrained gesture, fingers raised to her lips, seems to silently converse with her counterpart — a more sensual figure shown slightly in profile. The supple, graceful rendering of the bodies reflects Pascin’s deep interest in femininity, oscillating between innocence and desire.
A sketched group in the left background recalls the artist’s characteristic practice of composing intimate scenes where female presence dominates.

Atmosphere

The work reveals the elegance and modernity of Pascin in the art of the nude. His subtle line, poised between sketch and fully modeled volume, lends the scene an atmosphere at once sensual and contemplative.

BIOGRAPHY

Jules PASCIN (Julius Mordecai PINCAS)

Painter and engraver
Vidin (Bulgaria), March 31, 1885 – Montmartre, June 1930

Origins and Training

Son of a wealthy merchant from Vidin, his family settled in Bucharest in 1892. He studied in Vienna.
In 1901, his liaison with a famous courtesan, who ran a brothel in Bucharest, undoubtedly influenced the future painter.
He later attended the art schools of Budapest and Vienna (1902), then Munich (1903).

Yielding to his family’s disapproval of his lifestyle, he changed his name to Pascin.
During his time in Germany, he contributed to the satirical journal Simplicissimus, which published his first erotic and humorous drawings.

Arrival in Paris and Early Years (1905–1914)

On December 24, 1905, he arrived in Paris, settling at the Hôtel des Écoles, rue Delambre.
In 1906, the year Modigliani arrived in Montmartre, he met Hermine David and moved into the Hôtel Beauséjour, rue Lepic, where he remained until 1909.

• 1911: exhibition in Berlin.

• 1912: exhibition in Cologne.

He then lived on rue Joseph Bara, until his departure for the United States in 1914.

Stay in the United States (1914–1920)

On his arrival, he was welcomed by the artistic community at the Penguin Club.
In 1915, he was joined by Hermine David.
He became an American citizen, and they married in 1920.

Return to Paris and Artistic Maturity (1920–1930)

In October 1920, Pascin returned to Paris. He reconnected with Lucy Vidil, wife of the Norwegian painter Per Krohg, beginning a stormy affair.

• He rented a studio at 15, rue Hégésippe Moreau.

• The art dealer Berthe Weill exhibited his work several times (1920 and 1927).

• In 1922, he took over the studio of painter Marchand at 73, rue Caulaincourt.

• In 1923, he moved to 36, boulevard de Clichy, his final studio.

In 1924, at Daragnès’ studio, with André Warnod, he perfected his engraving technique. Roger Lacourière had already published his Cinderella (Éditions de la Roseraie).

From 1925 to 1929, he traveled to Italy, Palestine, New York, Spain, and Portugal, often with Lucy. In 1929, she rented a studio at the Villa des Camélias to distance him from Montmartre.

In 1930, he exhibited at Knœdler Gallery in New York (with little success), then at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris.

Death and Funeral

On June 2, 1930, Pascin committed suicide in his studio at 36 boulevard de Clichy.

On June 7, 1930, all the art galleries in Paris closed in mourning for his funeral.

He was buried at Montparnasse Cemetery, where a poem by André Salmon is inscribed:

“Free man, hero of dream and desire, with bleeding hands forcing open golden doors, spirit and notebook, Pascin scorned to choose, and master of life, he ordained death.”

Graphic Work

A major body of work, echoing the themes of his paintings: nudes, women, young girls, street scenes, brothels, and travels.
He employed many techniques:

• Woodcuts (Montmartre, 1910–1915, Filles de la nuit in 1919).

• Lithographs, drypoints, aquatints.

• Etchings (from 1912).

• Soft-ground etching (around 1923).

• Mezzotints (at the end of his life).

Notable illustrations:

• Mac Orlan (Aux lumières de Paris, 1925).

• André Warnod (Trois petites filles dans la rue, 1925).

• André Salmon (Vénus dans la balance, 1925).

Studios

• Hôtel Beauséjour, rue Lepic (1905–1909).

• 49 rue Gabrielle (1909).

• 2 impasse Girardon.

• 15 rue Hégésippe Moreau (ca. 1920).

• 73 rue Caulaincourt (1922).

• 36 boulevard de Clichy (1923–1930):

  • Studio on the 5th floor, with views of the Butte and the boulevard.

  • It was here that he took his own life.

Legacy

• 1993: retrospective exhibition The Studios of Pascin and his Friends at the Musée de Montmartre.

• Scenography: Guy Krohg.

• Curator: Sylvie Buisson (catalogue).

• Scientific follow-up: Rosemary Napolitano, official archivist of Pascin.