Paul Elsas (1896-1981)

Untitled (Seated Saint Figure)

Oil on canvas

Signed lower right

25.5 x 21 inches

Very good condition, as shown. Please see photos.

About the artist: Paul Elsas was born in 1896, the son of Hugo Elsas (1860–1920)—who served as Vice President of the Württemberg State Parliament and chairman of the German People’s Party (DVP). From 1912 to 1919, he studied at the School of Applied Arts in Stuttgart under Rudolf Rochga (1875–1957) and at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a student of Christian Speyer (1855–1929), Christian Landenberger (1862–1927), Adolf Hölzel (1853–1934), and later, Heinrich Altherr (1878–1947). In 1919, he moved to Munich and became involved with the "Munich New Secession" (Münchner Neue Sezession). Around 1926–27, he traveled to Brindisi, Athens, and Albania. With the support of his patron—the industrialist and art collector Alfred Wolf—he relocated to Paris in 1928. Beginning in 1932, he collaborated with Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) on an experimental new manual printing technique known as "Monotype Erwino." During this period, he also found success working as a set designer, interior decorator, commercial graphic artist, and instructor at an art school. Following the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, Elsas was barred from exhibiting his work in Germany due to his Jewish heritage; he subsequently moved to Paris in 1938–39. There, he joined the "Union des Artistes Allemands Libres" (Union of Free German Artists)—an organization chaired at the time by Eugen Spiro, which opposed the artistic dictatorship imposed within the German Reich. During this time, Elsas also formed a friendship with Fernand Léger (1881–1955). In September 1939, Elsas was interned at the Chambaran camp in southern France, alongside Willi Münzenberg (1889–1940), Leopold Schwarzschild (1891–1950), and his friend Paul Westheim (1886–1963). Following the invasion by German troops in 1940, Elsas was released and went into hiding in the Ardèche region. There, he was sheltered by the villagers of Le Cheylard for a year. In 1944, he returned to Paris. After the war, he was granted French citizenship.