Pawel Merwart, A MILL LANDSCAPE

27.0 x 41.0 cm - oil, mahogany board with chamfered edges

signed p.d. (scratched, filled in with red paint): P. MERWART
On the reverse of the stamp with the number 6P referring to the dimensions of the canvas.

The painting after conservation - gluing of cracked board and minor retouching.


Pawel (Paul) Merwart (Marianovka, d. Kherson gub., Ukraine 1855 - Saint-Pierre, Martinique 1902) - came from a Polish-French family; his mother was Polish, his father a French soldier who took part in the Crimean War. He finished high school in Lviv, where he also began technical studies, later continued in Graz. Wounded in a duel, he went to Italy to convalesce and there decided to devote himself to art. He is said to have begun his painting studies in Vienna, later reportedly studying in Graz, Munich and Düsseldorf. From 1877 to 1884, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, with Henri Lehman and Isidore A. Pils, among others. His student works were awarded medals several times. From 1882 he worked for the magazine Le Monde Illustré and - as an illustrator-correspondent - traveled to Russia and Austria-Hungary. During this trip he was also in Galicia; including Lviv, Przemyśl, Kolomyja, the Tatra Mountains and the Carpathian Mountains. Around 1884 he accepted French citizenship and settled permanently in Paris, at the same time constantly participating in the life of the French Polish community. In 1878 he took part in the Universal Exhibition in Paris, and in 1879 he made his debut at the official Salon, where he exhibited almost annually from then on, gaining a reputation as a sought-after painter and portraitist. He exhibited not only in France, but also in numerous European cities (including Vienna, London, Prague, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest and Hamburg), as well as in the United States and French Guiana. He also constantly sent his works to exhibitions in Poland - Lviv, Krakow, Warsaw. In 1896 he was appointed painter of the department of colonies, probably thanks to the patronage of his brother Emil, governor of French overseas territories. He traveled, including to the Canary Islands, Senegal, Sudan, Congo, Tunisia, Mauritania, Somalia. In April 1902, he sailed to Martinique as a member of a government commission investigating the Montagne Pelée volcano. He died during its eruption, May 8, 1902.
He was a versatile artist - he painted in oil, watercolor, pastels, worked in printmaking and fresco technique, and was an excellent draftsman and mirrorist. The subjects of his works included, among others, biblical scenes (Young Moses), scenes inspired by literature (Sarah - the Deluge), portraits of famous personalities (Helena Modrzejewska as Mary Stuart) and beautiful women (the so-called beauty gallery), genre scenes and, finally, paintings with exotic motifs, painted during his numerous travels.