Fille à la mandoline (1912)

Jules Pascin prints bring the delicate, pearly colour and quick, sensitive line of the School of Paris into your home. Pascin was a Bulgarian-born artist known as the "Prince of Montparnasse", famous for his tender, hazy paintings of women and his lively drawings of cafés, streets and travels from Paris to Havana and Charleston. Our collection of fine art prints includes his figures, portraits, Cuban and American scenes and drawings.

About Jules Pascin

Julius Mordecai Pincas was born on 31 March 1885 in Vidin, Bulgaria, into a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family of grain merchants. The family moved to Bucharest in 1892. He trained in Vienna in 1902 and in Munich from 1903, where he met Paul Klee, Alfred Kubin and Wassily Kandinsky, and from 1905 drew for the satirical magazine Simplicissimus. His father disliked the family name appearing on the drawings, so he became "Pascin".

In December 1905 he moved to Paris and joined the artists at the Café du Dôme, where he met the painter Hermine David, who became his partner and later his wife. He made thousands of drawings and watercolours, and from around 1907–1909 began painting portraits and nudes. Twelve of his works were shown at the Armory Show in New York in 1913.

At the outbreak of the First World War he left for the United States, where he and Hermine David lived from 1914 to 1920. He travelled through the South and to Cuba, drawing street life in Charleston, New Orleans and Havana, and became an American citizen. Back in Paris he became a central figure of Montparnasse. Struggling with depression and alcohol, he took his own life in his studio in June 1930, aged 45, on the eve of a major exhibition.

Style and Subjects

Pascin's paintings of women, usually nude or partly dressed in relaxed poses, are painted in thin, misty layers of soft pinks, pearly greys and pale blues, with delicate, wavering outlines. They have a dreamy, melancholy tenderness.

His drawings and watercolours are quick and witty, full of people in cafés, parks and streets. His American and Cuban sketches capture crowds, markets and street life with a light, lively touch.

Famous Works

• Family Dressing (1905), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. An early drawing from his Munich and Paris years.
• The Foolish Virgins (1909), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A biblical parable recast in his early Paris style.
• The White Stockings (1917), Israel Museum, Jerusalem. A model in white stockings, from his American years.
• Hermine David (1919), Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon. A portrait of his partner and fellow painter.
• Reclining Girl (1921), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A young woman resting, in his soft mature style.
• Girl with a Kitten (1926), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A seated girl with a kitten.
• La visite du dimanche (1919). A Sunday visit, from the year before his return to Paris.

Decorating with Pascin Prints

Pascin's soft, pastel-toned figures suit bedrooms, dressing rooms and quiet sitting rooms with muted colours and simple furniture. His nudes are best for a private space, while his portraits, such as Hermine David et sa fille, suit a living room or study.

His Cuban and American scenes, such as Havana, bring travel and movement to a hallway or home office, and his witty drawings make a lively group in thin black frames.

FAQ

Why was Jules Pascin called the "Prince of Montparnasse"?

He was a central figure of the artistic and social life of Montparnasse, the Paris district where many artists lived and worked in the 1920s.

What art movement was Jules Pascin part of?

He belonged to the School of Paris, the international group of artists working in Paris in the early twentieth century.

What did Pascin paint?

His most frequent subject was women, usually nude or partly dressed, in casual poses. He also made thousands of drawings and watercolours of everyday life.

Did Pascin live in America?

Yes. He lived in the United States from 1914 to 1920, travelled in the South and to Cuba, and became an American citizen.

Where can I see Pascin's work?

Works are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Israel Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon and the Hiroshima Museum of Art.

Related Artists

• Amedeo Modigliani: fellow artist of the School of Paris
• Chaïm Soutine: fellow artist of the School of Paris in Montparnasse
• Moïse Kisling: fellow artist of the School of Paris in Montparnasse
• Paul Klee: artist he met in Munich