Anatole Jakovsky
Encyclopedia
Anatole Jakovsky was a French
art critic who wrote substantially, collected widely, and established a museum in Nice
for Naïve art
, Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky
.
Atole Jakovsky was born on August 13, 1909 in Chişinău
(now Republic of Moldova). In 1932, Anatole Jakovsky moved from Romania
to Paris
. He met the secretary of Prokofiev who introduced him amongst the artistic colony of Montparnasse
. There he developed a binding friendship with Jean Hélion and mingled with the abstract artists who revolve around Michel Seuphor and Torrès Garcia.
Soon Anatole Jakovsky became an art critic focusing on the abstract painters and in particular the Abstraction "movement - Creation " of Jean Herbin of whom he wrote the first monograph. His first papers are devoted to Calder, Arp, Delaunay, Hélion, Mondrian
, Nicholson, Pevsner, Seligmann, Villon, Vulliamy, Braque, Picasso, Zadkine… All of whom become friends. He also maintained a very close relationship with Robert Delaunay
. Together, in 1939, they created "The Keys of the Paving Stones", the first plastic book. It is a collection of poems signed "Anatole Delagrave", illustrated by Robert Delaunay and made of plates of rhodoïde fluorescent. It is the first and last time that Anatole Jakovsky had recourse to a pseudonym. The work was drawn with 100 plates which are on show at the
Following a series of events, Anatole Jakovsky decided to seek out other activities. In the process of exploring various avenues of interest, he met the naïve painter Jean Fous. There, in 1942, while helping him unpack books and various objects, he discovered canvases in a portfolio case of a Rousseau Customs officer which caught his interest. From that moment on, Anatole Jakovsky officially devoted himself to defend, promote and collect naïve painting.
In 1949, he made his first appearance with the Editions J Damase in Paris, his first significant work on this artistic expression: "Naive painting". He did not cease writing forewords, monographs, critical pieces as well as organizeing international exhibitions of Naïve art, gathering little by little probably the most significant collection of naïve paintings, which he eventually donated with all his files to the town of Nice in 1978.
Four years later, the Museum of the Castle of Sainte-Hélène bearing her name, preserved 600 canvases and drawings, sculptures, paintings under glass recalling the complete history of the Naïve art from the world of 17th century to today. His files have been integrated into the museum archives which holds exceptional documents legitimating the existence of this art among the first steps of all autonomous creations of the 20th century.
Parallel with his interest for naïve painting, Anatole Jakovsky, eclectic visionary as much as alchemist of art, developed an interest in Gasto Chaissac of whom he wrote the first biography, Alphonse Allais that he discovered, the history of the tobacco, the collections of pipes which it compared with Marcel Duchamp, old robots, old postcards, the history of the Eiffel Tower, the Palate of the Factor Horse and the Rocks of Rotheneuf, art populaire…
Atole Jakovsky was a man in constant quest of discovery. He knew how to anticipate the taste of his contemporaries. He foresaw man on the moon and predicted WWII war as early as 1935.
His eclecticism, his perspicacity, his pugnacity and stubbornness allowed us all to discover a whole new art culture.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
art critic who wrote substantially, collected widely, and established a museum in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
for Naïve art
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
, Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky
Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky
The Musée international d'Art naïf Anatole Jakovsky is a museum located in Nice, which displays 18-to-21st century works specialized in naive art...
.
Atole Jakovsky was born on August 13, 1909 in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
(now Republic of Moldova). In 1932, Anatole Jakovsky moved from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He met the secretary of Prokofiev who introduced him amongst the artistic colony of Montparnasse
Montparnasse
Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail...
. There he developed a binding friendship with Jean Hélion and mingled with the abstract artists who revolve around Michel Seuphor and Torrès Garcia.
Soon Anatole Jakovsky became an art critic focusing on the abstract painters and in particular the Abstraction "movement - Creation " of Jean Herbin of whom he wrote the first monograph. His first papers are devoted to Calder, Arp, Delaunay, Hélion, Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
, Nicholson, Pevsner, Seligmann, Villon, Vulliamy, Braque, Picasso, Zadkine… All of whom become friends. He also maintained a very close relationship with Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, cofounded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were more abstract, reminiscent of Paul Klee...
. Together, in 1939, they created "The Keys of the Paving Stones", the first plastic book. It is a collection of poems signed "Anatole Delagrave", illustrated by Robert Delaunay and made of plates of rhodoïde fluorescent. It is the first and last time that Anatole Jakovsky had recourse to a pseudonym. The work was drawn with 100 plates which are on show at the
Following a series of events, Anatole Jakovsky decided to seek out other activities. In the process of exploring various avenues of interest, he met the naïve painter Jean Fous. There, in 1942, while helping him unpack books and various objects, he discovered canvases in a portfolio case of a Rousseau Customs officer which caught his interest. From that moment on, Anatole Jakovsky officially devoted himself to defend, promote and collect naïve painting.
In 1949, he made his first appearance with the Editions J Damase in Paris, his first significant work on this artistic expression: "Naive painting". He did not cease writing forewords, monographs, critical pieces as well as organizeing international exhibitions of Naïve art, gathering little by little probably the most significant collection of naïve paintings, which he eventually donated with all his files to the town of Nice in 1978.
Four years later, the Museum of the Castle of Sainte-Hélène bearing her name, preserved 600 canvases and drawings, sculptures, paintings under glass recalling the complete history of the Naïve art from the world of 17th century to today. His files have been integrated into the museum archives which holds exceptional documents legitimating the existence of this art among the first steps of all autonomous creations of the 20th century.
Parallel with his interest for naïve painting, Anatole Jakovsky, eclectic visionary as much as alchemist of art, developed an interest in Gasto Chaissac of whom he wrote the first biography, Alphonse Allais that he discovered, the history of the tobacco, the collections of pipes which it compared with Marcel Duchamp, old robots, old postcards, the history of the Eiffel Tower, the Palate of the Factor Horse and the Rocks of Rotheneuf, art populaire…
Atole Jakovsky was a man in constant quest of discovery. He knew how to anticipate the taste of his contemporaries. He foresaw man on the moon and predicted WWII war as early as 1935.
His eclecticism, his perspicacity, his pugnacity and stubbornness allowed us all to discover a whole new art culture.