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Jules Pascin was born as Julius Mordecai Pincas in the Bulgarian town of Vidin. He was the eighth of a total of eleven children in a Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Marcus Pincas, was a grain merchant. The family belonged to the wealthiest in the city. When Pascin was seven years old, the family moved to Bucharest, where his father reopened a grain trade. At the age of 15, Pascin joined the family business. His enthusiasm for the profession was limited, however, and he went more and more often to the local brothel in the city, where he made his first nude drawings. Since his father did not want to see his surname in connection with works of this kind, the young artist later decided to use the name Pincas as an anagram of the real surname. At the age of 17, Pascin moved to Vienna to begin his artistic education. However, he only stayed there for one year. He moved to Munich to attend the art academy under Moritz Heymann. He made his first drawings for satirical magazines in Munich. During this time he got to know artists like Albert Weisgerber and Wassily Kandinsky, with whom he had a lifelong and deep friendship. Pascin became a member of the Berlin Secession.
At the end of 1905 Pascin, like many other artists at the beginning of the 20th century, emigrated to Paris. The Parisian art world welcomed him with open arms and he quickly found his way into the scene. Later he even got the nickname Prince of Montparnasse. He exhibited in many salons and continued to sell caricatures and drawings for magazines and newspapers. In Paris he also met the painter Hermine Lionette Cartan David and fell in love with her. Initially Pascin's work was limited to drawings, sketches and watercolors. He painted his first paintings from 1907 onwards, his most frequent motifs being portraits and nudes, which were strongly influenced by Fauvism and the style of Cézanne. Pascin wanted to be taken seriously as an artist of this style, but had only moderate success with it. Frustrated about his slow personal development, he visited the Louvre to copy the great masters and studied at the Calarossi Academy.
When the First World War broke out, Pascin moved to the United States to escape military service. His girlfriend followed him and the couple later married in New York. After the war ended, they returned to Paris. He was closely connected with the city and especially the artists' quarter Montparnasse. Pascin suffered from alcoholism and depression. At the age of 45, the evening before a major exhibition, he committed suicide in his studio. His fortune was divided equally between his wife Hermine and his mistress Lucy Vidil Krohg, wife of the Norwegian painter Per Krohg. His funeral was attended by thousands of artist friends but also by the waiters and bartenders of the local pubs.
Jules Pascin was born as Julius Mordecai Pincas in the Bulgarian town of Vidin. He was the eighth of a total of eleven children in a Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Marcus Pincas, was a grain merchant. The family belonged to the wealthiest in the city. When Pascin was seven years old, the family moved to Bucharest, where his father reopened a grain trade. At the age of 15, Pascin joined the family business. His enthusiasm for the profession was limited, however, and he went more and more often to the local brothel in the city, where he made his first nude drawings. Since his father did not want to see his surname in connection with works of this kind, the young artist later decided to use the name Pincas as an anagram of the real surname. At the age of 17, Pascin moved to Vienna to begin his artistic education. However, he only stayed there for one year. He moved to Munich to attend the art academy under Moritz Heymann. He made his first drawings for satirical magazines in Munich. During this time he got to know artists like Albert Weisgerber and Wassily Kandinsky, with whom he had a lifelong and deep friendship. Pascin became a member of the Berlin Secession.
At the end of 1905 Pascin, like many other artists at the beginning of the 20th century, emigrated to Paris. The Parisian art world welcomed him with open arms and he quickly found his way into the scene. Later he even got the nickname Prince of Montparnasse. He exhibited in many salons and continued to sell caricatures and drawings for magazines and newspapers. In Paris he also met the painter Hermine Lionette Cartan David and fell in love with her. Initially Pascin's work was limited to drawings, sketches and watercolors. He painted his first paintings from 1907 onwards, his most frequent motifs being portraits and nudes, which were strongly influenced by Fauvism and the style of Cézanne. Pascin wanted to be taken seriously as an artist of this style, but had only moderate success with it. Frustrated about his slow personal development, he visited the Louvre to copy the great masters and studied at the Calarossi Academy.
When the First World War broke out, Pascin moved to the United States to escape military service. His girlfriend followed him and the couple later married in New York. After the war ended, they returned to Paris. He was closely connected with the city and especially the artists' quarter Montparnasse. Pascin suffered from alcoholism and depression. At the age of 45, the evening before a major exhibition, he committed suicide in his studio. His fortune was divided equally between his wife Hermine and his mistress Lucy Vidil Krohg, wife of the Norwegian painter Per Krohg. His funeral was attended by thousands of artist friends but also by the waiters and bartenders of the local pubs.