HENRI HAYDEN

HENRI HAYDEN LANDSCAPE WITH CHURCH HENRI HAYDEN Warsaw 1883 - Paris 1970 Pen and black ink on paper, signed and dated "HAYDEN 42". 29.5 x 47.5 cm / 11.4 x 18.5 inches, framed 66 x 79 cm / 26 x 31.1 inches PROVENANCE France, private collection Henryk Hayden (born Henryk Hayden-Wurcel) stands out as one of the most prominent representatives of the École de Paris. Hailing from an old Jewish family in Warsaw – despite the ambitions of his parents, who saw him as the heir to the family business – he chose to dedicate his life to art. After initial training at the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he joined the studio of Konrad Krzyzanowski, a leading figure of Polish Symbolism, whose methodology, imbued with the decorative suggestions of Edvard Munch, profoundly shaped his technique. Already a mature painter in 1907, Hayden moved to Paris, integrating naturally into the vibrant community of Polish exiles. His Parisian experience was further enriched by his encounter with Wladyslaw Slewinski – a close friend of Paul Gauguin and an illustrious exponent of the Pont-Aven school – who helped further refine his artistic style. A decisive moment came with the “discovery” of Cézanne, revealing a stylistic transformation that saw him transition from decorative symbolism to Cubism. Hayden’s involvement with the painters of the “new style” – including Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Gris, and, in particular, the Cubist ideologue Anre Salmon – firmly rooted him in the heart of Parisian avant-garde circles. This integration culminated in a prestigious contract with the Galerie de L’Effort Moderne, directed by Léonce Rosenberg, opening a phase of extraordinary success in the interwar period. His solo exhibitions at the Leopold Zborowski galleries (1923), Bernheim (1928), and Drouant (1933) testify to the growing recognition of his talent, while the fruitful collaboration with Jadwiga Zak, widow of the cubism pioneer Eugeniusz Zak and renowned promoter of East European and Latin American avant-garde artists (including Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, and Jules Pascin), further helped consolidate his reputation. During World War II, while many of his contemporaries remained in Paris, Hayden chose exile, initially settling in Auvergne, where he met Robert Delaunay, and then finding refuge, in 1943, in Roussillon, in the Vaucluse, alongside the writer Samuel Beckett. After the war, he returned to Paris to open his studio, gradually abandoning cubism in favor of a more essential decoration. Throughout his career, Hayden cultivated a constant passion for the landscape genre. His early works – such as the Cubist representations of “The Factory” (1911, Leeds Art Gallery) and “View at Saint Lunaire” (1911, York Art Gallery) – masterfully exemplify his mastery in the use of broad planes and the monumentality of his compositions. The drawing “Landscape with a Church” (1942), created in a turbulent period marked by flight from occupied Paris and wanderings in southern France, reflects a “conservative evolution” of his style. In this work, mature cubism gracefully yields to the aesthetics of late impressionism, while the artist, synthesizing the visible through wide landscape spaces, enhances the imposing presence of an ancient church – perhaps a tribute to the indelible influence of Paul Cézanne.