David Widhopff

David Ossipovitch Widhopff (Ukrainian: Давід Осипович Відгоф) (1867–1933) was a Ukrainian painter, caricaturist and poster artist. A naturalized citizen of France, Widhopff was active in the Paris art scene for more than four decades, counting Czech artist Alfons Mucha and French writer Léon Deschamps among his many friends. He followed up by founding a fine-arts academy in the Amazonian state of Pará at the behest of the Brazilian government. Upon his return, he created posters for the highly influential art dealer Ambroise Vollard and illustrations for Le Courrier français weekly magazine. Students in Munich, 1886. Seated: Widhopf (center), Alphonse Mucha (in profile) and Karel Vítězslav Mašek (right). Standing: Luděk Marold and Leonid Pasternak.

Career In the 1880s, Widhopff earned a diploma at the Odesa Art School of Drawing. Soon after, he moved to Germany, where he became a student of Max Herterich, at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. In 1887, he moved to France, and studied under painters Tony Robert-Fleury and Jules Joseph Lefebvre at the Académie Julian in Paris. For the next three years, he worked alongside Maurice Denis and Paul Ranson, and keenly followed the style of academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. He also led other artists from the Russian Empire in a group called the Société des Artistes Russes. In 1888, 1891 and 1893, Widhopff exhibited at the Paris Salons. He traveled to Brazil and was "encouraged by the state of Pará to lead the chairs of painting and drawing in two of the main schools of the elite of Belém: Liceu Paraense (or Lyceu Benjamin Constant) and Escola Normal." He also met Hugues Delorme and Jules Roques at Le Courrier français, giving rise to a fruitful collaboration with (among others) Adolphe Léon Willette to provide illustrations for it. Widhopff also created tapestries for the Beauvais factory during this time. His association with both places resumed in the 1920s.

During his lifetime, Widhopff earned acclaim for his ability to work equally well with both pencil and brush. His drawings, in particular, are known for their lively expressions, colorful imagery and rich humor.

Posters and illustrations

Paintings