Louis Marcoussis distinguished himself as a painter and graphic artist. Born in Poland as Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markous, he studies initially at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. From 1903, however, he spends most of his life in Paris, where he continues his studies as a student of Jean Lefebvre. Starting from Cubism, he first gradually pulls away from the influence of Picasso and his circle and develops a strictly geometric style that has left the representational behind. The high points of his graphic work include the illustrations for Tristan Tzara's 'Indicateur des chemins de cœur'. Marcoussis' works are exhibited from around 1910 onward in major Parisian art institutions, such as the Salon des Indépendants from 1912 on, in whose retrospective exhibition he is also represented with six works in 1926. In the same year, his graphic work can be seen in the group exhibition in the 'Section d'Or'. From 1923, he is also a regular participant in the Salon des Tuileries. Further exhibitions in Paris follow: in 1926 in the Galerie Pierre, in 1929 at G. Bernheim and in 1931 in the Galerie Jeanne Bucher. He repeatedly travels through Western Europe and Tangiers/North Africa, and visits the USA in 1933. Individual retrospectives after his death in 1941 are accompanied by the acquisition of his works by famous museums such as the Tate Gallery, London, the Art Institute Chicago and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.