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Pinchus Kremegne (1890-1981), was a
Belarus|Belarusian artist, primarily known as a
sculptor, painter and lithography|lithographer. He
is considered one of the great names of
contemporary painting.

He was a native of Zhaludak near Lida, and was a
friend of both Chaim Soutine and Michel Kikoine.
He studied sculpture at the Vilnius School of
Drawing. He became a target of the pogroms because
he was a Jew and fled to Paris in 1912. In Paris,
Kremegne joined the group of painters of following
Montparnasse and soon became one of the respected
residents of La Ruche. In 1915, he gave up
sculpture in order to dedicate himself to
painting. He left Paris to live in a small town in
the Pyrenees called Ceret. This village which is a
little inland from Collioure attracted other
painters such as Soutine. Although Soutine did not
like the town very much he completed astounding
paintings here over a couple of years. He never
settled but his compatriot Kremegne had a house
built here around 1960. This small unassuming
house, a reflection of the man himself,  is
nestled into the mountain and it overlooks the
pretty village. There was a falling out between
the two men perhaps stemming from some ingratitude
shown by Soutine towards a mutual 'mecene' who had
helped the two impoverished artists out in their
early careers in Paris. Kremegne's house now has
new occupants and it is called the Belvedere.
Later Ceret was to attract other painters such as
Picasso. The Picasso walk goes by Kremegne's house
and Ceret has an important museum by artists such
as Matisse, Picasso etc. There are a few Kremegne
paintings on exhibition here. An underestimated
artist today, overshadowed by Soutine, Paris put
on a posthumous one-man show in the Quartier Les
Halles in the 90's. A more structured vision of
nature than Soutine's, Kremegne's last paintings
prefigure the paintings of other painters such as
Kossof in England.
  
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