christian berstart brut
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Heir to the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century, this renowned biologist fell into madness at the height of his scientific career. Interned in Germany, he threw himself body and soul into the creation of thousands of pages covered in gouache, charcoal or watercolour; thus opening, like a window in his cell, an escape into an infinite universe, a metaphysical escape. His fantastic works, when they are not abstract, are populated with ghostly characters: hybrid monsters, multicoloured insects, characters with disproportionate eyes, or small beings with the appearance of mutants.
His work, which captivated Daniel Cordier and Jean Dubuffet, is represented in important collections across the world, and thanks to a gift by Cordier, is in the permanent collection of the Paris Pompidou Center.

portrait of eugene gabritschevsky - © christian berst — art brut
Date 1895 — 1979
Country Russia (Russian Federation)

Eugène Gabritschevsky was born in 1895 to a high aristocratic family in Moscow and enjoyed a significant career as a biologist before sinking into madness. His father, a bacteriologist, introduced him to science and Eugène became quickly known as a specialist in questions of heredity, working in the United States, then in Paris at the Institut Pasteur. Alongside his scientific work, the young man painted, in his spare time, expressionist-inspired works of art. At the onset of the Russian revolution, Eugène first showed signs of a larger behavioral disorder which would result in his commitment to the psychiatric hospital in Haar (near Munich), where he would remain until his death in 1979.

What began as a hobby suddenly became a frantic activity: over the course of three decades he painted and drew on any surface available including calendars, magazines, administrative bulletins, etc. using charcoal, pencil, watercolor, and gouache. His multi-dimensional universe began to spread: many of his works are otherworldly, filled with ghostly characters, strangely disturbing, where there is a fascinating atmosphere, several others prove to be non-figures, tachistes. Eugène particularly liked to leave room for chance in all of his creative practice and enjoyed conjuring forms by passing a sponge or a rag over previously painted areas or by using a system of folds.

Gabritschevsky’s work, which captivated Daniel Cordier and Jean Dubuffet, among others, is represented in many important collections across the world, and thanks to a gift by Cordier, is in the permanent collection of the Paris Museum of Modern Art.

Artworks
Please contact us to inquire about the available works.
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 1959
16.14 x 11.02 in
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 1950
7.87 x 11.42 in
untitled - © christian berst — art brut
untitled, 1945
10.24 x 7.87 in
“Personnages” - © christian berst — art brut
“Personnages”, 0
8.27 x 5.12 in
The roots of the earth - © christian berst — art brut
The roots of the earth, 1960
16.54 x 11.42 in
Catalog
In abstracto #2
Catalogue published to mark the exhibition *In abstracto #2*, christian berst art brut, Paris, 2020. - © christian berst art brut, christian berst — art brut

Preface : Raphaël Koenig.
Foreword : Christian Berst.
Catalog published to mark the exhibition In abstracto #2, from March 5th to May 30th, 2020.

Exhibitions
Traverser la nuit :
Works from the Antoine de Galbert collection, MAAT, Lisbonne. From March 12 to August 29, 2022.
Monster
curated by Nancy Huston, the bridge by christian berst. From September 11 to October 10, 2021.
in abstracto #2
at the gallery. From March 5 to June 6, 2020.
4th Biennale of Art Brut
Theatre, Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne. From November 29, 2019 to August 30, 2020.
Elevations, Bruno Decharme & Antoine de Galbert Collections
Hommage à Joseph Ferdinand Cheval, Château de Hauterives . From April 30 to 27, 2015.
View more
Art brut
ABCD Collection / Bruno Decharme, la Maison rouge, Paris. From October 17, 2014 to January 18, 2015.
The crowd
Collection de l'art brut, Lausanne. From February 27 to August 25, 2002.
exhibition view of *monster* curator : Nancy Huston, the bridge by christian berst, Paris, 2021 - © christian berst — art brut
*in abstracto #2*, christian berst art brut, paris, from march 5th to april 18th, 2020. - © christian berst art brut, christian berst — art brut
Press review
A la Villa Médicis, en Italie, l’art brut s’expose en majesté
Harry Bellet, Le Monde. April 30, 2024.
« Ces artistes sont des visionnaires » : une des plus grandes collections d’art brut au monde exposée à Rome
Eric Tariant, Connaissance Des Arts. April 24, 2024.
L’art brut, nouvelle folie des musées
Valérie Duponchelle, Le Figaro. February 28, 2023.
confessioni di un collezionista. Intervista a antoine de galbert
Roberta Trapani, Rivista Osservatorio Outsidersart N°24. September 23, 2022.
Nancy Huston – Monstre
Laurent Boudier, Télérama Sortir. September 21, 2021.
View more
déconfinement : 7 expositions à voir à paris en mai 2020
La Rédaction, Télérama Sortir. May 18, 2020.
que reste-t-il de la vogue de l’art brut
Roxana Azimi, Quotidien De L’art. September 12, 2019.
l’envolée de l’art brut
éric Tariant, Le Temps. November 13, 2017.
Collections
Musée national d’art moderne (Pompidou)
France
collection de l’Art brut
Switzerland
Antoine Frérot collection
France
abcd / Bruno Decharme collection
France
Antoine de Galbert collection
France
View more
Emmanuelle and Guy Delcourt collection
France
Video
monstre commissaire nancy huston
Eugène Gabritschevsky

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