Józef Hecht
Encyclopedia
Józef Hecht more commonly known as Joseph Hecht, was a Polish
painter
, engraver
and printmaker. Trained in classical engraving techniques, Hecht had a profound influence on 20th century printmaking.
from 1909 to 1914. On completion of his studies in Kraków, Hecht visited museums throughout Europe. The outbreak of World War I
found him in Berlin. Due to the fact that he had done his studies in the Austrian zone in Poland and thanks to prizes obtained at the Académie des Beaux-Arts
, Hecht was given the option of going to neutral Norway, where he lived from 1914 to 1919. Immediately following the armistice
, Hecht traveled to Italy and two years later, to Paris where he maintained his studio until his death. At this time Hecht became a member of the Salon d'Automne
, thereby gaining an entrée into the Parisian art world and a chance to exhibit his work on a regular basis. At his Paris studio, he taught burin
engraving
, a classic copper engraving technique, to a number of prominent artists, including British
surrealist
painter
and printmaker
Stanley William Hayter
, South Africa
n-born British painter and printmaker Dolf Rieser
and many others who worked with Hayter during this time.
The year 1926 was a turning point in Hecht’s career and heralded the most successful period of his life. He published his first suite of six prints, l'Arche de Noë, which included a preface by the French symbolist Gustave Kahn
and was exhibited at the Paris gallery Le nouvel essor in December of 1926. Hecht’s future collaborator, mystical narrator André Suarès
, wrote a laudatory catalogue article. The images that Hecht developed at this time found renewed vigor in 1928 when Suarès and Hecht collaborated on the folio, Atlas. In Atlas Hecht began to re-combine images and forms he had previously studied -- a working method that he refined throughout his life.
In 1927 Hecht’s encouragement of Hayter's printmaking activities led to the establishment of Atelier 17, a cooperative printmaking studio which endures to this day in Paris as Atelier Contrepoint. The "Atelier
" influenced artists such as Pablo Picasso
, Marc Chagall
, Alberto Giacometti
and many others.
In 1929 Hecht became a founding member of the artists’ group, La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, which staged annual group shows and was influential in keeping the spirit of printmaking alive. Hecht also associated with members of Les Peintres-Graveurs Indépendants, founded in 1923 by J. E. Laboureur and Raoul Dufy
. It is doubtful that Hecht knew each member of these groups, but it is probable that he was familiar with their work, and they with his, and this provided an opportunity for the exchange of techniques, subjects, and ideas. Hecht was an intermediary between the artists of Atelier 17, with their strong avant-garde
bias, and the more traditional printmakers of his time.
Between 1926 and 1938, Hecht's engravings were published in various collections (see Chronology), his work was widely show, and it gained critical acclaim. Hecht won two gold medals at the 1937 Paris World's Fair
.
descent, Hecht left Paris before the start of World War II
to live in the Savoy region
near the Swiss-Italian border, where he worked as an agricultural
laborer. After the war, Hecht returned to Paris. Hayter, who had moved Atelier 17 to New York City
for the duration of the war, returned to Paris and found his old friend in poor health and out of work. To encourage Hecht to take up engraving again, Hayter brought a large copper
plate to Hecht's studio and began working on it. Hecht could not resist, and together they produced the collaborative
print, "La Noyee". With renewed enthusiasm, Hecht began producing numerous engravings, while also developing new methods for printing in relief
. Hecht died of a heart attack
in his Paris studio in 1951.
1909 Enters the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Krakow, Poland.
1914 Graduates from the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
Following graduation, travels in Europe, visiting museums, spends a brief period studying in Berlin, then goes to Norway at the outbreak of World War I
.
1917 Exhibition at Christiania, Norway.
1918 Exhibitions in Oslo and Bergen, Norway.
1919 Travels to Italy.
1920 Moves to Paris. Becomes a member of the Salon d'Automne and begins to exhibit with them.
1921 Begins to exhibit at the Salon des Indépendents. Exhibition at Washington, D.C.
1923 Exhibitions in Philadelphia, at the Salon des Tuileries
and the Galerie Le Nouvel Essor,Paris.
1926 Publishes l'Arche de Noë, a suite of six engravings with a preface by Gustave Kahn
; l'Eubage aux Antipodes de l'Unité, five engravings with prose by Blaise Cendrars
. Exhibitions at Galere Berthe Weil, Paris, and at Galerie Le Nouvel Essor, Paris. Meets Stanley William Hayter
.
1927 Helps Hayter
establish Atelier 17, Paris. Writes an unpublished treatise on engraving.
1928 Publishes Atlas, a suite of six engravings with a poem by André Suarès
. Exhibitions in The Wanamaker Galleries, New York, and at Lodz, Poland.
1929 Publishes Croquis d'Animaux, ten engravings. Exhibition at Gallery Georges, London. Founding member of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1930 Exhibition at Galerie Berthe Weil, Paris.
1931 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1932 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1933 Publishes Paris, a suite of eleven engravings. Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
Exhibition in San Francisco.
1934 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1935 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1936 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1937 Wins two gold medals at the International Exposition, Paris.
1938 Publishes Nouveaux Croquis d'Animaux, ten engravings. Begins work on London suite while visiting his sisters. Exhibitions in Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa.
1939 Exhibits in group show at Petit-Palais, Paris.
1941 Exhibition in Paris.
1941 – 1945
Works as an agricultural laborer in the Savoy
region of France. Without access to a press, all work takes the form of drawings or paintings.
1944 Exhibition at Galerie Denise René, Paris.
1946 Resumes printmaking at the urging of Hayter
.
1949 Invents a new relief printing process.
1950 Publishes Quelques Aventures de Maitre Renart, with engravings.
1951 Dies of a heart attack in his studio in Paris, 19 June.
Posthumous Exhibitions
1952 La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, Paris.
1959 Bazalel Museum, Jerualem.
1966 Galerie Berie, Paris.
1968 Municipal Library, Mulouse, France.
1969 Lumley Cazalet, Gallery, London.
1985 Dolan/Maxell Gallery, Philadelphia.
1998 Arsène Bonafous-Murat, Paris.
Bibliothèque Nationale;
British Museum;
Brooklyn Museum;
Cabinet d' Amsterdam;
Caterby Jones Collection;
Chalcographie du Louvre;
Cincinnati Museum of Art;
Delft Museum;
Hague Museum;
Leeds Museum;
Leyde Museum;
Library of Congress;
Metropolitan Museum of Art;
Musée d'Amiens;
Musée des Ars Décoratifs, Paris;
Musée de Belfort;
Musée Carnavalet;
Musée de Céret;
Museum of Copenhagen;
Musée du Luxembourg;
Musée de Montpelier;
Musée de Mulouse;
Musée de Nantes;
Musée du Petit-Palais;
Museum of Tel-Aviv;
National Gallery of Art, Washington;
New York Public Library;
Philadelphia Museum of Art;
University of Warsaw;
Victoria and Albert Museum.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, engraver
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
and printmaker. Trained in classical engraving techniques, Hecht had a profound influence on 20th century printmaking.
Career
Born in Łódź, Poland, in 1891, Hecht studied at the Art Academy of KrakówJan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts
The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, or Kraków Academy of Fine Arts , located in Kraków, Poland, is the oldest Polish fine-arts academy, established in 1818.It is a state-run university that offers 5- and 6-year Master's degree programs...
from 1909 to 1914. On completion of his studies in Kraków, Hecht visited museums throughout Europe. The outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
found him in Berlin. Due to the fact that he had done his studies in the Austrian zone in Poland and thanks to prizes obtained at the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
, Hecht was given the option of going to neutral Norway, where he lived from 1914 to 1919. Immediately following the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, Hecht traveled to Italy and two years later, to Paris where he maintained his studio until his death. At this time Hecht became a member of the Salon d'Automne
Salon d'Automne
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Angele Delasalle and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon...
, thereby gaining an entrée into the Parisian art world and a chance to exhibit his work on a regular basis. At his Paris studio, he taught burin
Burin
Burin from the French burin meaning "cold chisel" has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English, one meaning a steel cutting tool which is the essential tool of engraving, and the other, in archaeology, meaning a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which was probably...
engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, a classic copper engraving technique, to a number of prominent artists, including British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and printmaker
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter , CBE was a British painter and printmaker associated in the 1930s with Surrealism and from 1940 onward with Abstract Expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers of the 20th century, in 1927 Hayter founded the legendary Atelier 17 studio in Paris...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n-born British painter and printmaker Dolf Rieser
Dolf Rieser
Dolf Rieser was a South African born British painter, printmaker, and teacher.-Early life and education:Dolf Rieser was born in King William's Town, South Africa, and educated in Germany and Switzerland...
and many others who worked with Hayter during this time.
The year 1926 was a turning point in Hecht’s career and heralded the most successful period of his life. He published his first suite of six prints, l'Arche de Noë, which included a preface by the French symbolist Gustave Kahn
Gustave Kahn
Gustave Kahn was a French Symbolist poet and art critic.Kahn was born in Metz.He claimed to have invented the term vers libre, or free verse; he was in any case one of the first European exponents of the form. His principal publications include Les Palais nomades, 1887, Domaine de fée, 1895, and...
and was exhibited at the Paris gallery Le nouvel essor in December of 1926. Hecht’s future collaborator, mystical narrator André Suarès
André Suarès
André Suarès was one of the pseudonyms used by Félix-André-Yves Scantrel a French poet and critic....
, wrote a laudatory catalogue article. The images that Hecht developed at this time found renewed vigor in 1928 when Suarès and Hecht collaborated on the folio, Atlas. In Atlas Hecht began to re-combine images and forms he had previously studied -- a working method that he refined throughout his life.
In 1927 Hecht’s encouragement of Hayter's printmaking activities led to the establishment of Atelier 17, a cooperative printmaking studio which endures to this day in Paris as Atelier Contrepoint. The "Atelier
Atelier Method
Atelier is the French word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name...
" influenced artists such as Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
and many others.
In 1929 Hecht became a founding member of the artists’ group, La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, which staged annual group shows and was influential in keeping the spirit of printmaking alive. Hecht also associated with members of Les Peintres-Graveurs Indépendants, founded in 1923 by J. E. Laboureur and Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
. It is doubtful that Hecht knew each member of these groups, but it is probable that he was familiar with their work, and they with his, and this provided an opportunity for the exchange of techniques, subjects, and ideas. Hecht was an intermediary between the artists of Atelier 17, with their strong avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
bias, and the more traditional printmakers of his time.
Between 1926 and 1938, Hecht's engravings were published in various collections (see Chronology), his work was widely show, and it gained critical acclaim. Hecht won two gold medals at the 1937 Paris World's Fair
Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937)
The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne was held from May 25 to November 25, 1937 in Paris, France...
.
Later career and death
Of JewishJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
descent, Hecht left Paris before the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to live in the Savoy region
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
near the Swiss-Italian border, where he worked as an agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
laborer. After the war, Hecht returned to Paris. Hayter, who had moved Atelier 17 to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for the duration of the war, returned to Paris and found his old friend in poor health and out of work. To encourage Hecht to take up engraving again, Hayter brought a large copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
plate to Hecht's studio and began working on it. Hecht could not resist, and together they produced the collaborative
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
print, "La Noyee". With renewed enthusiasm, Hecht began producing numerous engravings, while also developing new methods for printing in relief
Relief print
A relief print is an image created by a printmaking process where protruding surface faces of the matrix are inked; recessed areas are ink free. Printing the image is therefore a relatively simple matter of inking the face of the matrix and bringing it in firm contact with the paper...
. Hecht died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in his Paris studio in 1951.
Chronology
1891 Born on 14 December in Lodz, Poland.1909 Enters the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Krakow, Poland.
1914 Graduates from the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
Following graduation, travels in Europe, visiting museums, spends a brief period studying in Berlin, then goes to Norway at the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
1917 Exhibition at Christiania, Norway.
1918 Exhibitions in Oslo and Bergen, Norway.
1919 Travels to Italy.
1920 Moves to Paris. Becomes a member of the Salon d'Automne and begins to exhibit with them.
1921 Begins to exhibit at the Salon des Indépendents. Exhibition at Washington, D.C.
1923 Exhibitions in Philadelphia, at the Salon des Tuileries
Salon des Tuileries
The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painter Albert Besnard, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others....
and the Galerie Le Nouvel Essor,Paris.
1926 Publishes l'Arche de Noë, a suite of six engravings with a preface by Gustave Kahn
Gustave Kahn
Gustave Kahn was a French Symbolist poet and art critic.Kahn was born in Metz.He claimed to have invented the term vers libre, or free verse; he was in any case one of the first European exponents of the form. His principal publications include Les Palais nomades, 1887, Domaine de fée, 1895, and...
; l'Eubage aux Antipodes de l'Unité, five engravings with prose by Blaise Cendrars
Blaise Cendrars
Frédéric Louis Sauser , better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized French in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the modernist movement.-Early years:...
. Exhibitions at Galere Berthe Weil, Paris, and at Galerie Le Nouvel Essor, Paris. Meets Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter
Stanley William Hayter , CBE was a British painter and printmaker associated in the 1930s with Surrealism and from 1940 onward with Abstract Expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers of the 20th century, in 1927 Hayter founded the legendary Atelier 17 studio in Paris...
.
1927 Helps Hayter
Hayter
-People:* Alethea Hayter, English writer* Charles Hayter, English miniature painter* David Hayter, American actor* Sir George Hayter, 19th century English painter* George Bazaine-Hayter, French general* Harrison Hayter, British engineer...
establish Atelier 17, Paris. Writes an unpublished treatise on engraving.
1928 Publishes Atlas, a suite of six engravings with a poem by André Suarès
André Suarès
André Suarès was one of the pseudonyms used by Félix-André-Yves Scantrel a French poet and critic....
. Exhibitions in The Wanamaker Galleries, New York, and at Lodz, Poland.
1929 Publishes Croquis d'Animaux, ten engravings. Exhibition at Gallery Georges, London. Founding member of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1930 Exhibition at Galerie Berthe Weil, Paris.
1931 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1932 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1933 Publishes Paris, a suite of eleven engravings. Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
Exhibition in San Francisco.
1934 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1935 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1936 Exhibition of La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine.
1937 Wins two gold medals at the International Exposition, Paris.
1938 Publishes Nouveaux Croquis d'Animaux, ten engravings. Begins work on London suite while visiting his sisters. Exhibitions in Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa.
1939 Exhibits in group show at Petit-Palais, Paris.
1941 Exhibition in Paris.
1941 – 1945
Works as an agricultural laborer in the Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
region of France. Without access to a press, all work takes the form of drawings or paintings.
1944 Exhibition at Galerie Denise René, Paris.
1946 Resumes printmaking at the urging of Hayter
Hayter
-People:* Alethea Hayter, English writer* Charles Hayter, English miniature painter* David Hayter, American actor* Sir George Hayter, 19th century English painter* George Bazaine-Hayter, French general* Harrison Hayter, British engineer...
.
1949 Invents a new relief printing process.
1950 Publishes Quelques Aventures de Maitre Renart, with engravings.
1951 Dies of a heart attack in his studio in Paris, 19 June.
Posthumous Exhibitions
1952 La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, Paris.
1959 Bazalel Museum, Jerualem.
1966 Galerie Berie, Paris.
1968 Municipal Library, Mulouse, France.
1969 Lumley Cazalet, Gallery, London.
1985 Dolan/Maxell Gallery, Philadelphia.
1998 Arsène Bonafous-Murat, Paris.
Public Collections
Bibliothèque Doucet;Bibliothèque Nationale;
British Museum;
Brooklyn Museum;
Cabinet d' Amsterdam;
Caterby Jones Collection;
Chalcographie du Louvre;
Cincinnati Museum of Art;
Delft Museum;
Hague Museum;
Leeds Museum;
Leyde Museum;
Library of Congress;
Metropolitan Museum of Art;
Musée d'Amiens;
Musée des Ars Décoratifs, Paris;
Musée de Belfort;
Musée Carnavalet;
Musée de Céret;
Museum of Copenhagen;
Musée du Luxembourg;
Musée de Montpelier;
Musée de Mulouse;
Musée de Nantes;
Musée du Petit-Palais;
Museum of Tel-Aviv;
National Gallery of Art, Washington;
New York Public Library;
Philadelphia Museum of Art;
University of Warsaw;
Victoria and Albert Museum.
External links
- Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum, University of HaifaUniversity of HaifaThe University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
- History of Engraving, Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
- Artists Who Have Worked at Atelier 17 (1927-1955)