Dimensions: 69 x 49 cm
signed and dated lower right: 'Witold Wojtkiewicz | 1904'
On the reverse, a paper exhibition label from the National Museum in Kraków dating from 1976 with a description of the work in ink: 'Witold Wojtkiewicz | Portrait of Wanda Święcicka | oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 69 x 49 cm | Kalina Stadnicka-Polak | [exhibition] monographic | September 22–November 14, 1976'
Provenance
given by the artist to his cousin, Wanda Święcicka, on the occasion of her wedding, ca. 1907
Collection of the portrait subject’s heirs, Warsaw
Exhibited
Witold Wojtkiewicz 1879–1909, National Museum in Kraków, September 22–November 14, 1976
Bibliography
Witold Wojtkiewicz 1879–1909, exhibition catalog, vol. 2, ed. Barbara Domańska and Anna Zeńczak, Kraków 1989, pp. 36–37 (ill.), cat. no. 12
Witold Wojtkiewicz 1879–1909, exhibition catalog, vol. 1, ed. Zofia Gołubiew, Kraków 1976
Biography
He was a representative of Polish modernism. He likely began his studies at the Drawing Class in Warsaw. He continued his studies at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts under, among others, Leon Wyczółkowski and Teodor Axentowicz. He was a co-founder of the Group of Five and, from 1908, a member of the “Sztuka” Society. He exhibited his works in Warsaw and Kraków. In his paintings, he combined elements of tragedy, lyricism, the grotesque, and pathos, imbuing them with philosophical meaning. His work reveals the influence of Symbolism, Expressionism, Art Nouveau, and Surrealism. He primarily used oil and tempera. In addition to painting, he also designed postcards and created illustrations, including for satirical magazines.
