The Pascin exhibition at the Maillol Museum, running from February 14 to June 4, brings together nearly 180 works: drawings, paintings, sculptures, and engravings. It is one of the most significant exhibitions dedicated to this artist in the past 20 years. Numerous private collections, as well as national and international museum collections, have chosen to lend works, some of which have never been exhibited in France before. This exhibition is therefore a unique opportunity to discover a body of work that remains largely unknown to the general public.

Julius Pincas, known as Pascin, was born in 1885 in what is now Bulgaria, which was then a frontier of the Ottoman Empire. He came from a wealthy family of grain merchants. From an early age, he displayed a remarkable talent for drawing, which led him to pursue an artistic career. After studying at the Academies of Fine Arts in Vienna, Munich, and Berlin, he arrived in Paris on Christmas Eve in 1905. His exceptional skill as a draftsman allowed him to collaborate with German satirical magazines, including the famous Simplicissimus, which published his works and ensured his financial independence by the age of 20.

Remaining on the sidelines of Cubism, Futurism, and, more broadly, any artistic movements or theories, Pascin preferred to develop his own artistic approach. However, his works still reflected the same concerns that preoccupied his contemporaries. At the Bar of the Bal Tabarin (1913) is a response to the question of movement representation, as posed by the Futurists, although the subject and lively style of the painting place it outside any strict theoretical framework.

As a Bulgarian, Pascin was forced into exile in America during World War I to avoid being on the side of the Central Powers. In New York, he met Alfred Stieglitz and sold numerous paintings to Professor Barnes. His travels to Florida and Cuba provided inspiration for a wealth of works that captured a pastoral vision of these still-primitive worlds. In 1921, Pascin returned to France. His style had matured, marking the beginning of his “pearly period.” By lightening his pigments and working with almost dry brushes, Pascin created an ethereal form of painting where drawing and color intertwined, offering a completely new vision of his art. Inspired by biblical or mythological stories, he explored his deepest obsessions in large compositions such as The Return of the Prodigal Son (1928) and Lazarus and the Rich Man(1923–1925). At the height of his fame, he took his own life in 1930. With his death in July of that year, the Roaring Twenties and all their hopes seemed to be buried with him.

For several years, Pascin’s legacy risked being forgotten. Yet, in light of this exhibition, we rediscover the significance of his prolific work, which introduced Expressionism to France and left such a lasting influence on the United States that it remains perceptible even today.