Marek Szwarc was born on May 9th 1892 in Zgierz, Poland. From an early age he showed considerable talent for drawing and sculpting. When he was 17 one of his elder brothers who lived in Paris came back to visit and noticed his gift. With his help, Marek was sent to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1911 to 1914.
Marek lived and studied in Paris until 1914 where he stayed at "La Ruche", a well known artists compound, where he met other "soon to be famous" artists, such as Chagall, Soutine, Kisling, Pascin and many others. Working mainly in clay, he presented his first large sculpture "Eve" at the Salon d'Automne of 1913.
In 1914, Marek went back to Poland and remained there during the war. He worked very little on his sculptures at that time, due to the conditions imposed by the war, but he painted in a style that was already markedly personal.
You can read more about the life of Marek Szwarc through the books of his daughter, Tereska Torres.
The Converts - published 1970 in New York (Knopf) is an account of her childhood and youth. Alas, it is out of print.
Le Choix - Tereska has recently finished a new book in french on Marek scheduled to appear in April 2002 in Paris under the title "Le Choix" (Ed. Desclée de Brouwer).
Une Française Libre - published January 2000 by Phebus, is an account of her war years as a soldier in the Free French Forces in London.
His work became less impressionistic and moved closer to what would become known as the "Ecole de Paris".
Towards the end of World War One Marek met Guina and three weeks later they were married. Around 1919 the couple converted to catholicism - but the decision was kept secret from their family and friends for over ten years in order not to cause unnecessary suffering. Marek and his wife considered themselves to be "Jews of the Catholic Faith".
They returned to Paris in 1920, where their daughter Tereska was born. Marek became a close friend of French philosopher Jacques Maritain.
At first Marek worked mostly in oil. Numerous portraits, landscapes and still lives date from this period. The well known art collector Zamaron bought many of his works. Exhibitions were held in some of the most prominent French, German and Polish art galleries. Around 1926 he returned to sculpting, working on bas-reliefs in copper and brass depicting religious scenes, such as "Ruth and Boaz". Noted art critic Louis Vauxelles published a study about these bas reliefs ("Marek Szwarc" - Editions du Triangle - Paris 1930)
His friend, the philosopher Jacques Maritain wrote : "Marek's art and his faith were united in an inner serenity just as they were within the craftsmen of the Middle Ages". Jean Cassou, well known French art critic of the 1920's wrote : "Marek's sculptures are like their creator organically joined to their profound origins". Georges Cattaui, Franco-Egyptian essayist wrote : "Marek's monumental 'Moses', his 'David', his 'Mikael', his "Maternité" are incarnated poems, they invite us to meditation and prayer".In the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia of 1935 an entry on Marek Szwarc states, "his compositions are of great simplicity of form and outline. His scene is reduced to symbols. His figures are highly stylized in the proportions, yet amazingly natural in their movements and expressions."
His works have been bought by the French state, by museums in Cracow, Brussels and Luxembourg as well as the Jerusalem National Library, the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and St John Church and Holy Rosary Church in Toronto. He was commissioned to decorate the Vatican pavillion at the World Fair (Exposition Universelle) in Paris in 1938 and the pavillion of the "Societe des Nations" in New York.
At the declaration of war in 1939, Marek was 47 years old and enlisted as a volunteer in the Polish Army in exile based in France after the invasion of Poland. He told his daughter before leaving: "As a Jew my duty is to fight Hitler". When the Germans invaded France and entered Paris his wife and daughter fled to Portugal and from there sailed to London. His daughter Tereska, barely 18, enlisted in General De Gaulle's army, the Free French Forces.
In 1943 the Polish Army allowed the few artists who served in its ranks to be released from active duty and to work in London. Marek rejoined his wife Guina. He turned again to sculpting in stone and wood. He exhibited his work at the Royal Academy together with other artists known as "The London Group." This period was one of intense creative activity and was almost entirely dedicated to sculpting in bronze, stone, clay, wood. His best sculptures date from this period.
After the War the Szwarc family moved back to Paris and Marek once again was able to work in his old atelier. He entered a period of deep artistic maturity. His subjects became simpler and at the same time more diversified. A large stone sculpture "Creation" was bought by the Polish Governement and offered to the CGT labour union in Paris. His sculpture "David" was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. George Brazzola, a Swiss art collector, bought many sculptures and paintings and bequested them to the Museum of Art and History of Judaism in Paris. Several exhibitions took place at this time in the USA and in Europe.
Wood is the dominant material of this period, especially olive wood. His large wood sculpture "Resistance" was bought by the French Institute in London. The Dominican monk and writer Charles Journet wrote one of his major art texts inspired by one of Marek's wood sculptures.
In December 1958, having just finished his sculpture "Libera Me", Marek told his wife: "This may be my last sculpture." Two days later he died unexpectedly but peacefully. His last words were "Remerciez tout le monde" (Give my thanks to everyone).
His wife Guina wrote after his death:
The hammer no longer strikes
The stone block -
The gouge no longer carves
The trunk of wood
The metalic voice
Neither rasps nor rings.
The tools slumber in their place.
The enlarged space
Is empty in its calm,
Not empty - populated
Populated by the invisible
Balanced between the heaven and the earth,
After the definitive departure
Of the sculptor
(translated from the french by Gabriel Levin)The artistic legacy Marek Szwarc leaves behind is considerable and was never shown in its entirety. Some of his works were either dispersed or even lost during the war, and he exhibited only sporadically after that time. However some major exhibitions were held in the 1920's-1930's in Paris, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, USA, Belgium, Austria. Today a major part of his work may be found in museums and collections throughout Europe, America and Israel.
The pieces presented here are from his atelier in Paris. For any information concerning the acquisition of these works contact us, contact@marek-szwarc.com