Breton women in a painting at a Spanish museum, by a Polish painter of Jewish origin who held French citizenship. And that’s just the beginning of this fascinating story.

The Holy Family according to Mela Muter

In Barcelona, at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Mela Muter’s painting ‘The Holy Family’ has been on display since 1912. Let’s take a closer look at this intimate, cosy scene. The composition is so close-up that we can almost feel the languid atmosphere of a summer’s afternoon, with a cosy house in the background. Who are the two women from the Breton town of Concarneau, dressed in everyday clothes, tenderly looking after the children? [photo 2]

The title of the painting, *The Holy Family*, transports us into the realm of Christian iconography, prompting us to look to the centuries-old tradition of depictions of Mary with the Infant Jesus sleeping on her lap, accompanied by Saint Elizabeth and her son, Saint John. Could the figure of the elderly man in the background be St Joseph, the guardian of Mary and Jesus, or perhaps Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth? What is certain is that we are looking at biblical figures; the artist has placed haloes above their heads.

The pillars of the pergola, or portico, over which vegetation winds, form a decorative frame for the scene, worthy of Renaissance works, within which the almost symmetrical poses of the women are set. The balance of the composition reinforces the impression of tranquillity and the unshakeable certainty of this scene’s permanence. We can admire the refined colour scheme, with cool pinks, blues and navies, set against a warm palette of earth tones. The theme of motherhood was very close to Mela Muter’s heart; she explored it on numerous occasions. This personal perspective allowed her to imbue the painting with authenticity and lyricism.

Mela Muter – Polish painter

A talented and admired artist, yet overlooked for decades. A charming romantic and friend to the great figures of her era, who died alone and forgotten. This is Mela Muter, an extraordinary woman, whose full name was actually Maria Melania Mutermilch, née Klingsland. A native of Warsaw, she was born on 26 April 1876 into an assimilated, wealthy Jewish family with Polish patriotic traditions. She grew up in an artistic milieu. Her father was a well-known patron of the arts who supported writers, whilst her brother Zygmunt was an art and literary critic. However, she would spend most of her life in France. She was drawn there by a desire for freedom and an artistic education, and a chance to engage with modern art. Spain would prove to be another important creative hub for the artist.

Mela Muter’s career in exile

Mela Muter is counted amongst the artists associated with the École de Paris, a circle of artists – mostly of Jewish origin – who had come to Paris from Central and Eastern Europe in search of inspiration and avant-garde trends in art.

The painter found her place within the Polish artistic community and quickly made a name for herself in the Parisian art world thanks to favourable reviews from critics. From her debut in 1902, she regularly took part in exhibitions in France and Poland, gaining recognition for her original style as ‘a fresh, young, dynamic talent and an outstanding individual’, as reported in *Tygodnik Ilustrowany*.

Her first French holiday, spent in Brittany, sparked a lifelong fascination with the seascapes and the inhabitants of this rugged land. These two themes became recurring motifs in Mela Muter’s work. Her sensitive observation of nature and humanity imbued her views of Brittany with the truth of that place and its people. Mela Muter painted Breton women—who also served as models for the Holy Family —during one of her plein air sessions in Brittany.

A Polish painter in Catalonia – a great success

In 1911, Mela Muter met the famous Catalan art dealer, Josep Dalmau i Rafael, owner of a gallery in Barcelona, who had turned the city into an international centre for contemporary art. Working with him was both an honour and a great opportunity for Mela Muter. [photo 3]

Mela Muter’s exhibition proved to be a huge success, even a sensation. It attracted further attention when the author of one of the reviews attributed the artist to the circle of Russian female painters working in Paris. Muter reacted immediately with an emotional and firm letter to the editor: I am Polish, I was born in Warsaw, and my parents were also Polish. [ …] Poland, divided between Russia, Germany and Austria, had not renounced its national identity despite the loss of political independence. This earned her even greater attention as a representative of a nation fighting for independence, much like Catalonia.

The Barcelona Museums Board purchased two of the thirty-three works on display: The Blind Man and Portrait of the Painter Leopold Gottlieb . The following year, it exchanged the portrait of the painter for The Holy Family .

The legacy of Mela Muter in France

The painter spent the rest of her life in France. She played an active role in artistic life as a sought-after portraitist, a sensitive landscape painter, a tender creator of still lifes and a member of French artistic associations. She continued to create and exhibit until the end of her long life. Mela Muter outlived almost all her closest relatives and friends. She died on 16 May 1967 in Paris, in her studio.

Bolesław Nawrocki Junior, whilst searching for traces of his father in Paris, tracked down the elderly Mrs Muter in 1958. In fact, he had known her all his life – his father, Bolesław, had painted her portrait in Paris in 1903 – and her portrait hung in his family home. Nawrocki Junior commissioned a memorial to Mela Muter in Paris, adding the inscription ‘To the great Polish painter’ on the side of the tall pedestal.