Michel Kikoïne
(1892 - 1968)
Michel Kikoïne
biography
Michel Kikoïne was born in Rechitsa, Belarus, in 1892 and settled in Paris in 1912, part of the generation of émigré painters who would come to define the School of Paris. He trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, forming a lifelong friendship with Chaïm Soutine, with whom he shared both studio and temperament.
Kikoïne exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, gaining visibility in the interwar years as his palette intensified and brushwork became increasingly assertive. Still lifes, portraits and landscapes dominate this period, often built through dense strokes of vermilion, viridian and ochre.
After the Second World War, Kikoïne relocated to Israel before returning once more to Paris. His later paintings adopt a somewhat softer chromatic scheme but retain the robust facture and lyrical vigour that anchor his position within the École de Paris. Institutional recognition is broad, with works held in the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, reinforcing his historical standing within the émigré modernist narrative.
Kikoïne exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, gaining visibility in the interwar years as his palette intensified and brushwork became increasingly assertive. Still lifes, portraits and landscapes dominate this period, often built through dense strokes of vermilion, viridian and ochre.
After the Second World War, Kikoïne relocated to Israel before returning once more to Paris. His later paintings adopt a somewhat softer chromatic scheme but retain the robust facture and lyrical vigour that anchor his position within the École de Paris. Institutional recognition is broad, with works held in the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, reinforcing his historical standing within the émigré modernist narrative.
Michel Kikoïne
biography