Youla Chapoval (Ukrainian, 1919-1951)

Youla Chapoval was a Ukrainian painter, a member of the Realité Nouvelle and an artist of the Second School of Paris. Chapoval’s career was tragically brief, he came to painting from medicine only in 1942. Despite that, he achieved great success and recognition amongst his peers, art critics and important collectors.

He arrived in Paris with his family in 1924. At first, he studies medicine but meets many artists of the École de Paris, Pablo Picasso in 1938, Jean Cocteau and Maurice Sachs soon after. Many of his friends in the artistic circle saw Chapoval’s potential as an artist and encourages him to pursue painting. In 1942 or soon after Chapoval finally dedicates his life to art, and begins studies at the Academie de la Grande Chaumière. In 1942 Chapoval leaves Paris to work at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille and then Toulouse where he remains during the war.

Chapoval returned to Paris in 1944 and began making important connections with gallerists, dealers and collectors. In 1947 he had a successful first personal exhibition at Galerie Jeanne Bucher. This show established him as one of the most prominent artists of the Young School of Paris and he was awarded Second Prize in the Prix de la Jeune Peinture the same year.

1949 was a year of great success for the artist as he held another solo show at Galerie Jeanne Bucher and won the Kandinsky Prize. In the coming years, he participated in group exhibitions at Galerie Denise René and Galerie Henri Bénézit, as well as important avant-garde salons: the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles and the Salon de Mai.

In 1951 he was commissioned to paint three large murals for the École Langevin at Suresnes. Shortly after the completion of the murals, he was found dead in his studio, the cause of his death remains unknown.

His work continued to be exhibited in important shows of the post-war École de Paris. A retrospective exhibition to commemorate Youla Chapoval was held at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1964. His paintings Lances and Le Poisson completed in 1949 and 1950 respectively and previously in the collection of Chapoval’s sister Beliana (Bella Chapoval-Moisesco), were included in this important exhibition.