Forgotten École de Paris painter Georges Kars resurfaces at MAHJ
A retrospective dedicated to Georges Kars, a painter from the École de Paris who has largely faded from public memory, will take place at the Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) in Paris from October 15, 2026, to March 14, 2027. The exhibition, titled "Georges Kars. Un Bohémien à Paris," will present over 150 pieces sourced from the National Gallery in Prague and various Czech institutions. Kars, born in 1880 in Kralupy, Bohemia, studied in Munich, formed a friendship with Paul Klee, and moved to Paris in 1907. His work, influenced by Cézanne and Cubism, features self-portraits and notable pieces like "Femme au perroquet" (1926). After escaping the Nazis in 1939, he took his own life on February 5, 1945, in Geneva.
Key facts
- Georges Kars retrospective at MAHJ from October 15, 2026 to March 14, 2027
- Exhibition titled 'Georges Kars. Un Bohémien à Paris'
- Over 150 works including paintings, drawings, notebooks, and archives
- Partnership with National Gallery in Prague and about fifteen Czech institutions
- Kars was born in 1880 in Kralupy, Bohemia, into a German-speaking Jewish family
- He studied at Academy of Fine Arts Munich and befriended Paul Klee
- He settled in Paris in 1907 and joined the Montparnasse artistic community
- Gallerist Berthe Weill held three solo exhibitions for Kars
- Kars committed suicide in Geneva on February 5, 1945
- Last exhibition in France was in 1983 at Musée d'Art Moderne de Troyes
Entities
Artists
- Georges Kars
- Paul Klee
- Diego Velázquez
- Francisco de Goya
- Juan Gris
- Marc Chagall
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Maurice Utrillo
- Chana Orloff
- Suzanne Valadon
- Berthe Weill
- Pablo Picasso
- Georges Braque
- Paul Cézanne
- Chaïm Soutine
- Amedeo Modigliani
Institutions
- Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ)
- National Gallery in Prague
- Academy of Fine Arts Munich
- Musée d'Art Moderne de Troyes
- Centre Pompidou, MNAM–CCI
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Kralupy
- Bohemia
- Munich
- Germany
- Spain
- Portugal
- Madrid
- Prague
- Czech Republic
- Lyon
- Switzerland
- Geneva
- Tossa de Mar
- Catalonia
- Montparnasse
- Hôtel de Saint-Aignan
- 71 rue du Temple, 75003 Paris