Chaïm Soutine
A painter of raw, visceral emotion, he transformed carcasses and portraits into swirling vortices of color that defined Parisian Expressionism.
1893–1943 (age 50)·French, Jewish Belarusian painter·Birthday: January 13·The Lost Generation
Biography
Chaïm Soutine arrived in Paris from a Lithuanian shtetl with little but a ferocious need to paint. Living in dire poverty in La Ruche, he found kinship with artists like Modigliani, who painted his now-famous portrait. Soutine worked in a state of near-possession, his subjects—from a side of beef to a nervous bellboy—distorted under the pressure of his emotional gaze. He was less interested in representation than in excavating the inner life of his subjects through thick, turbulent impasto. Art dealer Leopold Zborowski supported him, but it was American collector Albert C. Barnes whose 1923 purchase of dozens of paintings catapulted Soutine from obscurity to financial security, though it did little to calm his tormented spirit. He spent the Second World War in hiding, constantly moving to evade Nazi capture, a period that ended with his death from a perforated ulcer. His work, a bridge between the Old Masters he revered and the Abstract Expressionism to come, remains a testament to painting as a physical and psychological ordeal.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Chaïm was born in 1893, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chaïm Was Born
The biggest hits of 1893
Chaïm's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1893Born
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Started school
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1906Became a teenager
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Could drive
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1911Could vote
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Turned 21
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 30
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1933Turned 40
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 50
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
Key Achievements
- Created the 'Carcass of Beef' series, inspired by Rembrandt, which became a landmark of Expressionist still life.
- His portrait series of service workers, like 'The Bellboy', redefined the genre with psychological intensity and physical distortion.
- Was a central figure of the School of Paris, influencing the development of European Expressionism.
- Gained major recognition and financial stability after American collector Albert C. Barnes purchased over 50 of his works in 1923.
Did You Know?
He was so poor early on that Modigliani once traded a portrait sketch for a meal at a restaurant for them both.
He allegedly kept a dead ox in his studio to paint from, causing neighbors to complain about the smell and summon the police.
Deeply superstitious, he avoided having his photograph taken and believed it could steal his soul.
During WWII, he was buried in a non-Jewish section of the Cimetière du Montparnasse under his partner's surname to hide his identity.
“I have tried to express with red the ringing of bells.”
