Sacha Zaliouk

Who was Sacha Zaliouk?

Sacha Zaliouk, born Alexander Davidovich Zaliouk, was a Russian Empire-born illustrator and sculptor, from a Jewish family in Radomysl. His artistic career began in Odessa, where he had moved with his mother and 3 siblings. His father was a notary and scribe in the Russian army and worked as a non-academic lawyer, but died prematurely of a brain tumor in his late thirties. Although his mother had little education herself, she supported the family by renting rooms in their home, first in Radomysl, then in Odessa. Sacha was able to get a public education in drawing and completed the university level College of Fine Arts in Odessa.

Upon graduation, Sacha moved to Paris, France in 1910, working among the many immigrant artists described later as "L'école de Paris". As with many Russian émigré, he was introduced to the artistic community by Maxim Gorky. Sacha studied there under Rafael Collin & Francois Flameng at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts, married in 1914 and enlisted in the French army, working his way up to Artillery Captain for which he was awarded French citizenship.

Although his early paintings looked back at his youth in the Ukraine, in 1919 he exhibited 50 paintings at "Au Tableau d'Art" reflecting the war years and with portraits of Parisiens, after which he was well known in Montparnasse, earning the moniker of "le Montparno des Montparnos". Although always painting, he supported his family in the post war years by working as a humoristic illustrator for French magazines – usually with a sexual theme – such as Fantasio, Sourire, Le Journal Amusant, Eros, and especially La Vie Parisienne. He also sculpted human faces from walnuts.