Isis Kischka (1908-1973) - Colour lithograph - Bouquet of flowers

Isis Kischka (1908-1973) Colour lithograph. "Flower bouquet in a vase" Signed bottom right and numbered 11/40 bottom left. Dimensions (sheet): 45x32cm. Generally in good condition, foxing outside the artwork. *Isis Kischka was born in Paris on 26 October 1908 into a Jewish family that had emigrated from Ukraine two years earlier. After studying commerce, he became interested in painting and became an artist in 1926, initially working as a medal designer. He married in 1932 and three years later began studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. His main sources of inspiration are Van Gogh and Cézanne. His colourful paintings and lithographs attracted the attention of art critics, including the prestigious Jean Cassou and Georges Waldemar, the latter comparing Kischka's style to "the song of the nightingale." In 1938, the artist's works were exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants, then at the Salon d'Automne. In 1941, Kischka was arrested and interned in Compiègne. There, he painted scenes of the camp and portraits of his fellow detainees, encouraging other artists among the detainees to do the same. He became a central figure in the camp's artistic activity, organising exhibitions and earning the highest esteem from other artists like Jacques Ostrowsky and Savely Schleifer, who dedicated several of their works to Kischka. From Compiègne, he was transferred to Drancy but managed to avoid deportation to the death camps. In the autumn of 1944, after 39 months of internment, Kischka was released and returned to Paris. Shortly after his return, he founded an association called "The artists witnesses of their time" with art critic Jean Cassou and curator Yvon Bizardel. Their first exhibition took place in 1951 and included works by Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, Raoul Dufy, and Moïse Kisling.