Marian Mokwa (1889 Malary - 1987 Sopot), Battle of Oliwa, circa 1950.

watercolor, gouache, paper, 44 × 34 cm (light passe-partout)
Signed l. d.: "Mokwa"

Marian Mokwa was one of the few Polish painters who can be described as marinists, artists who made maritime issues, in the broadest sense of the term, the main focus of their work. His most important painting challenge was the series Apotheosis of Maritime Poland, also referred to as Poland at Sea Yesterday and Today. It was created over nearly eighteen years and consisted of 44 paintings. The series was exhibited in the Maritime Gallery, built by Mokwa in Gdynia, which opened in 1934. The series was dedicated to the Polish presence on the Baltic Sea from the defense of the coast against the Normans to the artist's contemporary period - the construction of the port in Gdynia. The central place in the gallery, vis-à-vis the entrance, was occupied by the Battle of Oliwa, one of the largest paintings of the historical series, measuring 199.5 x 301 cm (the painting was recently found in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk). The outbreak of World War II interrupted the activities of the Gallery. During the war, much of the artist's pre-war output collected at the Maritime Gallery and at his home in Sopot was lost. After the war, the painter tried to reactivate the Gallery's activities - but to no avail. He also proceeded to reconstruct the lost historical series. New historical compositions were also created, including several compositions depicting the Battle of Oliwa in 1627 (collections of the Naval Museum in Gdynia, the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, private collections). Mokwa also painted a number of watercolors on this subject. The scene depicted in the offered watercolor is similar to a fragment from the painting Battle of Oliwa, oil on canvas, 110 × 215 cm from the collection of the Naval Museum in Gdynia. The watercolor shows the moment of the boarding of the Polish crew of the galleon "Saint George" on the Swedish admiral ship "Tigern." The captured Tigern was incorporated into the Polish fleet.