Karolina Prewęcka’s book Mela Muter: The Fever of Life is a multifaceted account of the life and work of Mela Muter, an outstanding Polish painter associated with the École de Paris circle. Endowed with remarkable empathy and sensitivity toward others, Muter captivated people with her personality. She shared a mutual affection with the poet Leopold Staff and maintained friendships with figures such as Leopold Gottlieb and Rainer Maria Rilke. She was also involved with the socialist activist Raymond Lefebvre. Her biography intertwines passionate love affairs with relentless artistic dedication. Marked by loss, suffering, postwar poverty, and loneliness, she never stopped creating. Forgotten after the Second World War, she is now being rediscovered and has re-emerged as one of the most fascinating women in twentieth-century Polish art.
This second edition, expanded with new chapters, takes the form of an illustrated album. It has been enriched with an extensive selection of images. Numerous reproductions of Muter’s works allow readers to immerse themselves in her painterly world, explore her artistic legacy, and appreciate her sensibility—intense, at times unsettling, but above all profoundly human.
Karolina Prewęcka is a journalist and author. Her books include recorded conversations with actors Stanisława Celińska, Ewa Szykulska, and Bohdan Łazuka, as well as with psychotherapist Dr. Bohdan Woronowicz. She has also written works about Papcio Chmiel and the prewar clairvoyant Stefan Ossowiecki. Over the years, she has published numerous articles on artists and cultural figures. Mela Muter entered her imagination with great intensity in 2017.
