Nicolas de Staël

Nicolas de Staël (French: [ni.kɔ.la də stal]; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955), born Baron Nikolai Vladimirovich Staël von Holstein (Russian: Николай Владимирович Шталь фон Гольштейн), was a French painter of Russian origin widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the post-war period. In a career spanning just fifteen years, he produced over a thousand paintings marked by a constant evolution between abstraction and figuration, a rich use of color, and a distinctive engagement with light and texture. He also worked with lithography, engraving, collage, and drawing.