Louis Marcoussis
Louis Marcoussis (born Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus; 1878 or 1883 – October 22, 1941) was a Polish-French avant-garde painter active primarily in Paris. Markus studied law in Warsaw before attending the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and later moved to Paris to study under Jules Lefebvre at the Académie Julian. His work was first featured in a major exhibition at the Salon d'Automne in 1905.
Also recorded as Louis Casimir Ladislas Marcoussis · Ludwik Markussis · Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markous · Marcoussis
Louis Marcoussis

Louis Marcoussis · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Given in loving memory of W. Chave and Mary Tyler McCracken by their daughters · CC0
- Name
- Louis Marcoussis
- Birth Name
- Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus
- Born
- 1878 or 1883
- Birthplace
- Łódź
- Died
- October 22, 1941
- Place of death
- Cusset
- Education
- Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, Académie Julian
- Movement
- Cubism, School of Paris
- Spouse
- Alice Halicka
- Nationality
- Poland and France.
- Occupation
- painter, illustrator, graphic artist, visual artist and printmaker.
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Louis Marcoussis (born Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus; 1878 or 1883 – October 22, 1941) was a Polish-French avant-garde painter active primarily in Paris. Markus studied law in Warsaw before attending the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and later moved to Paris to study under Jules Lefebvre at the Académie Julian. His work was first featured in a major exhibition at the Salon d'Automne in 1905.
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wikidata · Q1346343 · wikipedia · Louis Marcoussis
In this article
Biography
Biography
In Paris, he became acquainted with prominent artists of the School of Paris and writers in the cafes of Montmartre and Montparnasse. Guillaume Apollinaire, an artist and poet of Polish descent active in the Parisian avant-garde circles, suggested his French name, Marcoussis, named after a village near Paris. Marcoussis's early paintings were influenced by Impressionism, but he later became a part of the Cubist movement around 1911. He exhibited his works across Europe and the United States and held his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1925. Starting around 1930, Marcoussis focused more on printmaking and illustration, inspired by works of poets like Apollinaire and Éluard. During the late 1930s, he collaborated with Spanish surrealist Joan Miró, teaching him etching techniques which resulted in Miró’s renowned Black and Red Series. During the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, Marcoussis and his wife Alice moved to Cusset near Vichy where he died on 22 October 1941.

The Bar, 1920, by Louis Marcoussis
Louis Marcoussis · The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Louis Marcoussis • Birth Name — Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus • Born — 1878 or 1883 • Birthplace — Łódź • Died — October 22, 1941 • Place of death — Cusset • Education — Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, Académie Julian • Movement — Cubism, School of Paris • Spouse — Alice Halicka
Early life and education
Early life and education
He was born in Łódź, Poland. After studying law briefly in Warsaw he went to the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, where his teachers included Jan Stanislawski and Jozev Mehoffer. Moving to Paris in 1903, he spent a short time at the Académie Julian under Jules Lefebvre. The first time a painting of his was shown in a major exhibition was at the Salon d'Automne in 1905, and over the next quarter-century his work was shown in many other important exhibitions, in particular at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon des Tuileries. He drew cartoons for satirical journals, as he had earlier in Poland. In Paris he needed to earn his own living, and also took on other drawing and illustration work. In the cafés of Montmartre and Montparnasse he got to know Apollinaire, Braque, Degas, Picasso and many more artists and writers. It was Apollinaire who suggested Markus' French name, Marcoussis, after a village not far from Paris.
Cubism and the avant-garde
Cubism and the avant-garde
Impressionism influenced his early paintings, but from about 1911 he was part of the Cubist movement alongside other avant-garde painters like Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris and those of the Section d'Or. His work was shown in exhibitions in many European cities and in the US. In 1925 he had his first solo exhibition in Paris. As well as painting still lifes and musical instruments in the Cubist manner, he also produced portraits, views of Paris, and images from the Breton seaside. In 1913 he had married Alice Halicka, a painter who came from Kraków. Their daughter Malène was born in 1922. Marcoussis served in a Polish company of the French Foreign Legion from 1914 to 1919. He became a French citizen, while also staying in touch with Poland, both personally and professionally. He did not generally talk about his Jewish ancestry, and his family had converted to Catholicism, but today Marcoussis is often described as a Jewish artist. In 1926, he participated, along with Halicka, in Katherine Dreier's expansive Société Anonyme exhibition organized at the Brooklyn Museum.
Later life and death
Later life and death
From 1930 onwards, much as his friend Clément Serveau, he concentrated on printmaking and illustration, including work inspired by Apollinaire's Alcool, Tzara's Indicateur des chemins de cœur, and Éluard's Lingères légères and Aurélia. In the late 1930s Marcoussis collaborated with Spanish surrealist Joan Miró and taught him etching techniques, culminating in Miró's Black and Red Series, now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. After Nazi troops arrived in Paris in 1940, Marcoussis and Alice moved to Cusset near Vichy. He died there on 22 October 1941.
Selected exhibitions
Selected exhibitions
• 1905 Salon d'Automne, Paris • 1906 Salon des Indépendants, Paris • 1912 Salon de la Section d'Or, Paris • 1920 Exposition de la Section d'Or, Paris • 1925 Galerie Le Pierre, Paris • 1928 Galerie Le Centaure, Brussels • 1929 Galerie Georges Bernheim, Paris • 1929 Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris • 1933 Galerie Knoedler, New York City • 1934 Arts Club, Chicago • 1936 Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels • 1937 Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels • 1939 London Gallery, London • 1949 Retrospective in Paris • 1950 Retrospective in Basel • 1951 Retrospective in Brussels (List from German Wikipedia) • Illustration — Le bar du port. Signed, inscribed and dated Marcoussis Banyuls 1913. Oil on canvas, 80.8 x 65 cm • Illustration — Violon, bouteilles de Marc et cartes (Violin, Marc bottles and cards). Signed and dated Marcoussis 1919. Gouache and watercolor over charcoal on paper, 45.8 x 24.5 cm • Illustration — Personnage écrivant. Signed Marcoussis. Oil and charcoal on canvas, 22 x 16.5 cm • Illustration — Poire verte et couteau (Green pear and knife). Signed Marcoussis. Oil on glass, 36.2 x 26 cm
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
He also worked under the name Marcoussis. The authorities additionally record the headings Louis Casimir Ladislas Marcoussis, Ludwik Markussis, Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markous, Marcoussis and Ludwig Markus Marcoussis. His recorded languages were French and Polish. He married Alice Halicka.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1878
Louis Marcoussis was born in 1878.
1941
Louis Marcoussis died at Cusset.
Literature
Literature
Literature
Marcoussis, Louis, Oxford Art Online, 2003
Marcoussis, Louis, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Assabou et Marcoussis: deux tragédies ivoiriennes, Outre-Terre, 2005
La France et la crise ivoirienne: le processus des décisions françaises d'engagement militaire et de conclusion de l'Accord de Linas-Marcoussis (septembre 2002 - février 2003)
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.November 10, 1878 is the date preferred by the Grove Dictionary of Art among others, but some reputable sources, for instance the French National Library, suggest 1883.
- 2.Robbins, Daniel. Marcoussis, Louis. Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. 2003. 10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t054260.
- 3.Winiarski, Artur. Alicji Halickiej poetycka utopia pejzażu. Archiwum Emigracji. 76–81. 2012-12-01. 2391-7911.
- 4.Mansbach, Steven. Delayed Discovery or Willful Forgetting? The Reception of Polish Classical Modernism in America. Slavic Review. 71. 3. 489–515. 2012. 0037-6779.
- 5.Tallman, Susan. "Embracing the Whole Story: A Conversation with Deborah Wye," Art in Print Vol 1. No. 1 (May–June 2011), p. 12.
- 6.Lee, Jane. Marcoussis. Print Quarterly. 9. 3. 304–306. 1992. 0265-8305.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1346343: Louis MarcoussisWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
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