# Max Jacob artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/max-jacob/
Profile generated: 2026-05-18T21:39:01.919Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1876-07-12
- Death date: 1944-03-05
- Nationality: French
- Movements: Cubism, Symbolism
- Common media: painting, lithography, drawing, illustration, poetry

## About Max Jacob

Max Jacob (1876–1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, critic, and lithographer whose creative output bridged the literary and visual avant-garde in early twentieth-century Paris. Born in Quimper, Brittany, Jacob became a central figure in the Montmartre artistic community, forming close associations with Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Amedeo Modigliani. His visual work—encompassing paintings, drawings, lithographs, and book illustrations—reflects a personal synthesis of Cubist fragmentation, Symbolist mysticism, and Catholic spiritual imagery following his conversion in 1915. Though best known for his poetry and prose, Jacob produced a substantial body of works on paper that appear regularly at auction. He was arrested during World War II and died at the Drancy internment camp in March 1944. Today his visual art is held in institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his legacy as both a literary and visual artist continues to attract collector and scholarly attention.

## Common works and media

Gouache and watercolor paintings on paper, pen-and-ink drawings, lithographic prints, book illustrations, and illustrated manuscripts. Subjects include religious and mystical imagery, portrait studies, and abstract or semi-abstract compositions reflecting Cubist and Symbolist influences. Editioned prints and original illustrations from published volumes are among the most frequently encountered work types in auction and appraisal contexts.

## Market and appraisal context

Collectors encountering work by Max Jacob at auction will most often find works on paper—gouaches, watercolors, ink drawings, and lithographs—rather than large-scale oil paintings. His illustrated books and literary manuscripts also appear in sale rooms. Key appraisal considerations include the medium and date of execution, the strength of provenance documentation, condition of the paper support, and whether the work can be connected to a known publication or exhibition. Jacob's dual identity as a major literary modernist and a visual artist means that works with documented literary associations may carry particular significance. Auction results should be compared against individual lot details, as prices vary widely by medium, size, date, and provenance quality.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum records, library authority files, and scholarly references with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. The information on this page is drawn from publicly cited sources and should be supplemented by professional appraisal for specific items.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/41308
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q156214
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500016649
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/59084095/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Jacob
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79144837
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/2865