Stanislav Eleszkiewicz (1900 Czuty near Poltava - 1963 Paris), Man in a Helmet, 1950

Biography
Painter, draughtsman, designer of mosaics and stained glass. From 1914 he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Mirgorod. In 1918 he joined the army and, seriously wounded, was hospitalized for six months. From 1919 to 1921 he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Athens. He then spent a short time in Naples and Rome. In 1923 he settled permanently in Paris, where he actively participated in the artistic life of the city. He revolved in the bohemian circles of this metropolis on the Seine and became one of the most interesting representatives of the international circle of the École de Paris. He painted portraits, genre scenes and symbolic compositions. He became interested in ceramics already during his stay in Italy. It is known that as early as the 1920s he collaborated with the Parisian mosaic studio Gentil et Bourdet. Then he was also active in Jean Gaudin's stained glass workshop. At the same time, he engaged in easel painting, successfully exhibiting his works in galleries. He mainly took up social themes, depicting the lives of the lower, often excluded strata of society. He depicted scenes of shady pubs, the problem of homelessness, prostitution and poverty. He himself knew well the poor life full of worries. Eleszkiewicz developed his own individual style, in which his sense as a creator of stained glass and mosaics became perfectly evident. The artist operated with a strong black outline and a relatively flat color spot. Intense, unnatural colors brought him close to the Expressionists, and the often used fantastic motifs, to Surrealist painting.