WLADYSLAW SLEWINSKI (1856-1918) Witches' Island and Three Boats at Sea, 1902 [Groix Island, Morbihan (Brittany)] (Wyspa Czarownic i trzy lodki na morzu, 1902) Oil on canvas Signed lower left 58 x 82 cm Bibliography: Collective under the direction of Wladyslawa Jaworska , Wladyslaw Slewinski, Exhibition catalogue of the National Museum of Warsaw, Warsaw, 1983, our painting is reproduced in the catalogue raisonné section under no. 92 (photograph no. 76). Wladyslaw Slewinski, born on 1 June 1856 in Bialynin (Poland), was a Polish painter from an aristocratic family. Slewinski came to France in 1888 and attended the Parisian academies, until his decisive meeting with Paul Gauguin in 1889. An intense friendship developed between the two men and Slewinski accompanied Gauguin to Brittany, to Le Pouldu, where he stayed at Marie Henry's famous inn, a rallying point for the painters of the Pont Aven school. Returning to Poland in 1905, he came back to France in 1910 and settled first in Pont-Aven before settling in Doëlan. He died at the Hôpital Sainte-Anne in Paris on 24 March 1918. A very rare painter, some of his works are held in French public collections, such as Nature morte aux pommes et au chandelier, 1896-1897, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Pont-Aven, and Marine au rocher rouge in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes. Our painting, which is perfectly documented, belongs to Slewinski's series of seascapes, his favourite subject in which he excelled with a disconcerting modernity. The painting is also particularly well-dated and of remarkable dimensions, making its presentation at auction a major rediscovery. Slightly worn signature This painting is presented jointly by Damien Voutay and Hubert Duchemin.