CEZANNE AND CAZIEL

Following the major Cézanne exhibition at Tate Modern, London, during 5th October – 12 March 2023, interest in Cézanne’s influence on the early development in the work of Caziel has surged.
In view of this renewed attention, we are proud to present a group of work painted by Caziel during his studies at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art 1931-1936 and the time he spent in Aix-en-Provence during the Second World War.

Born in Poland in 1906, Caziel’s early development as an art student took place at the Warsaw Academy where he revered the artists of the Ecole de Paris in general and Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Van Gogh in particular. In 1937 Caziel won an art scholarship to go to Italy and Paris. When his bursary ran out, Edouard Vuillard intervened with the Polish authorities to keep the talented Caziel in Paris. Thus, Caziel found himself in Paris when the Second World War broke out. Caziel immediately joined the Polish Army in France but not for long as it was disbanded in 1940, leaving many Polish soldiers to flee to the Zone Libre of France. Caziel was sheltered by Blaise Cendrars in Aix-en-Provence. Here Caziel was literally immersed in Cézanne’s landscapes and still-lifes, at times informed by Fauvism.

Following the end of World War II, Caziel painted for four years alongside Picasso, before moving on to his individual form of abstraction as of 1951.
Caziel exhibited at Galerie Bernheim Jeune in Paris and at the Grabowski Gallery in London. A major retrospective of his work was hosted by the National Museum in Warsaw in 1998.
Caziel's work is represented in the following museums: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Vatican Museum, Rome; National Museum, Warsaw.

Whitford Fine Art has represented the Estate of Caziel since 1994.