Jankel Adler

JANKEL ADLER (Tuszyn, Poland, 1895- Aldbourne, UK, 1949).
"Interior with figures".
Oil on canvas (burlap).
Signed on the lower right.
Measurements: 90 x 69 cm.

Oil painting by Jankel Adler, key figure of the Central European avant-garde between the wars, which synthesizes in a particularly eloquent way his personal interpretation of cubism, far from the orthodox analytical rigor and loaded with a deep human and expressive dimension.
In this Cubist Composition, Adler articulates an interior populated by figures and objects arranged in superimposed, almost scenographic planes, where the portrait and the still life merge in a scene of enigmatic and suspended atmosphere. The forms appear fragmented and freely reconstructed, always maintaining a clear figurative reference, a characteristic feature of his mature language.
The palette of ochers, muted reds, blacks and earthy grays, together with the deliberate use of a burlap support, gives the work a strong materiality, underlining Adler's interest in painting understood as a living and tactile surface. This choice reinforces the introspective character of the scene and connects with his constant technical and formal experimentation.

The work is fully inscribed in the artist's mature stage, when his cubism is crossed by an emotional and melancholic charge, a reflection of the historical and vital fracture that marked his generation. Far from a purely formal exercise, Adler's language combines plastic modernity and psychological resonance, making him one of the most singular voices of 20th century European art.

A Polish-Jewish painter and engraver, Adler developed his career between Poland, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Linked to the Junges Rheinland group, he maintained a relationship with figures such as Paul Klee, which was decisive in his artistic evolution. He achieved international recognition in the twenties, obtaining, among other achievements, the gold medal at the exhibition "German Art in Düsseldorf" (1928).
Persecuted by the Nazi regime, his work was described as "degenerate art": several of his paintings were confiscated and exhibited at the famous Entartete Kunst exhibition in Munich in 1937. Exiled first in Paris and later in the United Kingdom, his production was marked by the experience of exile and the tragedy of the Holocaust.
Currently, Jankel Adler's work is represented in important international collections and museums, such as the Tate (London), the Städel Museum (Frankfurt), the Museum Kunstpalast (Düsseldorf) or the Israel Museum (Jerusalem), consolidating his position as one of the most relevant and personal artists of the European modern avant-garde.