Balthus: major figure of figurative painting

Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, known as «Balthus» (1908-2001) was a French figurative painter of Polish origins. Rather discrete and meticulous, the self-taught artist painted over 300 works during his career, of which some are undated. Inspired by the Louvre’s paintings that he reproduced from the time of his arrival in Paris at age 16, the painter is mostly known for his paintings of nubile young girls in ambiguous poses, reflecting the lost innocence of adolescence. Serving others, he confesses not painting “for expressing himself but rather for expressing the world”.

Photo Credit: Balthus, Still Life with a Figure, 1940