Michel Kikoine was born in Minsk in 1892, son of a banker and grandson of two rabbis. At 16 he was accepted at the Beaux Arts of Vilna, at 18 at the Beaux Arts of Minsk where he met with Sutine and Kremegne who became his lifetime friends. In 1912 the three friends left for Paris where they were accepted as students at the famous "Ecole des beaux arts de Paris". Their teachers were Pissarro and Cezanne! From 1914 to 1919, Kikoine joined the French army as a volunteer. In 1920 Kikoine visited the south of France, fell in love with its light and painted many landscapes such as the famous "paysage cezannien" (Cezanne inspired) shown here. As of 1926, Kikoine settled in a farm in French Burgundy. Soutine, Balthus, Kremegne, and the American painter Russel joined him. It was here they all painted many famous landscapes. From 1940 to 1944, Michel Kikoine escaped the German occupation and lived in hiding near Toulouse. From 1945 to 1958, Kikoine lived in Paris and specialized in autoportraits, portraits, and nudes. Then, for the last ten years of his life, he moved to Cannes, painted splendid Mediterranean landscapes, and died in 1968. Kikoine as well as Kremegne is one of the most famous painters of "l'Ecole de Paris".
