Balthus (1908 – 2001)
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Balthus was a Polish-French artist, who created controversy in the modern art world. In his lifetime, Balthus refused to send biographical information to museums, claiming his audience should focus on his work and not his personal life.
As a young artist, Balthus was sponsored by Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Rainer Maria Rilke and Maurice Denis. Some of his earliest work includes a series of illustrations for the book Mitsou, featuring a boy and cat. The image of a cat later became a repeated theme in Balthus’s work.
In 1926 Balthus travelled to Italy, where he studied the work of Piero della Francesca and copied his frescoes in Florence. This study later informed paintings Balthus created for a Protestant church in Beatenberg, Switzerland.
In 1930 Balthus was drafted into the Moroccan infantry in Kenitra and Fes, where he worked as a secretary. After two years in Morocco, Balthus moved to Paris and opened a painting studio. Balthus started painting his controversial paintings of young nudes in exotic situations.
In 1937 Balthus married Antoinette de Watteville, a model and aristocrat from Bern. The couple remained in Paris and had two children together. Outside of his family, Balthus associated with well-known artists and writers such as, Man Ray, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Albert Camus, Pierre Jean Jouve and Joseph Breitbach. His work was highly regarded Picasso, who spoke positively about Balthus’s daring paintings.
In 1940 Balthus and his family escaped the German invasion in Paris, and hid away on a farm in Champroyent. A few years later they moved to Switzerland, living in Bern and Geneva. Balthus remained in Switzerland until 1946, at which time he returned to France. At this time Balthus spent less time in Paris, and frequented locations in southern France such as Aix-en-Provence and the Morvan.
By the 1950s Balthus had an international reputation and a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was in New York that Balthus refused to release personal information, creating an air of mystery around his paintings. Balthus continued to move around Europe during the 1960s and 70s, living in Rome for a while before spending another period of time in Switzerland. On a trip to Japan, Balthus met his second wife, Setsuko, who followed Balthus to Rosiniere, Switzerland. When Balthus died his funeral was attended by a variety of celebrities, ranging from political leaders to popular musicians.
The work of Bathus has continued to inspire artists, poets and musicians. He was one of the few, living artists to have a painting in the collection of the Louvre. The work of Balthus is now in major collections around the world. Do you think you own a painting by Balthus? Contact us. We are the Balthus experts.