Georges Spiro (1909-1994) - "fantastic Landscape With Castle (1962)" - Oil/ Canvas- 55x46

Georges SPIRO (1909 Warsaw / Warszawa - 1994 Nice / Nicea) “Fantastic landscape with castle / PEJZAŻ FANTASTYCZNY Z ZAMKIEM” Oil on canvas signed lower right and dated 62 olej, płótno, sygn. pd: Spiro / 1962 55.5 x 46 cms Georges Spiro, born in 1909 in Warsaw and died in 1994 in Nice, is a Franco-Polish painter. Due to his parents' separation, Spiro grew up with his uncle in Vienna. He applied to the School of Arts and Crafts in Vienna, where he was accepted without examination. In 1927, Spiro's uncle lost his fortune. Spiro must then work to earn a living and finance his studies. He became a journalist, wrote poems, short stories and novels, and began to become known as a writer. After the Anschluss, Spiro was arrested by the Gestapo. After his release, he fled to France with his wife. He served in the French army at the end of August 1939 to obtain French nationality. In 1942, Spiro moved to Nice and began manufacturing children's toys. He devotes his free time to art – he makes gouaches. Spiro became a staff sergeant in the French army and participated in the Italian campaign. After his wife was murdered in a concentration camp, Spiro found his brother in London in 1946. His gouaches were exhibited there for the first time at the L'Arcade gallery. The success of the exhibition led Spiro to devote himself exclusively to art. In 1948, Spiro returned to France and received the Muratore Prize at the Young Painting Exhibition. Exhibitions all over the world follow. Spiro lived in Nice with his second wife Jeanne until his death in 1994. Georges Spiro's work is close to the post-surrealist movement whose origins are inspired by surrealism, a transdisciplinary artistic movement defined in 1924 by André Breton in his Manifesto of Surrealism. Spiro takes up typical elements of this movement which is characterized by an original and illogical approach, an interest in another world, a dream world largely inspired by Freudian investigations into the subconscious and dreams. He had a long-standing friendship with Jean Cocteau.