Balthus

"BALTHUS", BALTHASAR KLOSSOWSKI DE ROLA (Paris, 1908-Switzerland, 2001).
"Female nude."
Etching, copy 22/40.
Signed and justified in pencil.
Measurements: 37,5 x 28 cm.

Balthus grew up in the heart of the Parisian cultural elite, with an artistic talent supported by figures such as Rilke, Matisse and Bonnard. The life of his German-born family was marked by exile to Switzerland in 1914. Balthus began his artistic career by illustrating his cat Mitsou in a series of ink drawings. After a brief period in Berlin, he returned to Paris in 1924, where he studied drawing with models and served in military service in Morocco (1930-1932). Upon his return, he settled in Paris (1933) and became associated with surrealism (Breton, Giacometti), although his work, which reflected the suspension of time and dreaming, was seen as "banally realistic" by some surrealists. Despite this, his work soon gained notable success and the admiration of figures such as Picasso. After serving on the German shepherd front during the German invasion (1940) and returning to France in 1946, his career culminated in 1964 when he was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medici) by André Malraux. Today, his work is exhibited in important public and private collections, including the Louvre Museum.