Minsk

About the Painting

This original oil on canvas, circa 1970, features an expressionist portrait of a clown wearing a wreath of roses. Signed by Minsk in the lower right corner, the work exemplifies the artist's characteristic dense and colorful style. The composition captures the melancholic dignity of the clown figure, a recurring subject in European modernist painting, rendered with bold brushwork and vibrant color harmonies that define Minsk's expressionist approach.

The painting reflects the influence of the Paris School's second generation, combining emotional intensity with technical mastery. The clown motif, popular among Jewish artists of the École de Paris, often served as a metaphor for the artist's own condition—simultaneously performer and outsider, entertainer and observer of society.

About the Artist

Minsk (born 1923, Poland) was a Polish-born Jewish painter who became a naturalized French citizen during the interwar period. Coming from a family of artists—he was cousin to renowned sculptors Jacques Lipchitz and Nathan Rapoport—Minsk studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he developed his distinctive expressionist style.

As a second-generation painter of the Paris School (École de Paris), Minsk was a pupil of Emmanuel Mane-Katz, a prominent figure in Jewish modernist painting. This mentorship profoundly influenced his artistic development, particularly in his approach to color and emotional expression.

From 1976 to 1985, Minsk exhibited regularly in prestigious Parisian galleries, including Galerie Duncan on rue de Seine and Galerie Médicis at Place des Vosges. He participated in several editions of the Salon de Paris and the Salon des Indépendants, establishing his reputation in the French art world.

After 1980, Minsk settled in the south of France, where he continued to exhibit regularly in Baux-de-Provence, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Vallauris, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and maintained a workshop in Nice. His work, characterized as expressionist, encompasses diverse subjects: historical characters including musicians, tailors, and farm women, as well as contemporary portraits of men and women. His landscapes and village scenes are particularly noted for their chromatic intensity and emotional depth.

Technical Details

Artist: Minsk (b. 1923, Poland)
Title: A Clown With Roses
Date: c. 1970
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed lower right
Condition: Very good condition
Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm / 18 x 21½ in (canvas)
Frame: 55 x 64 cm / 21½ x 25 in
Origin: France
Style: Expressionist, Paris School (École de Paris)
Sources: Adrian Darmon: Autour de l'art juif: Encyclopédie universelle des peintres, sculpteurs et photographes (Paris, 2003); Arcadja Auction Results

A distinguished example of second-generation Paris School expressionism by a pupil of Mane-Katz.