Dimensions: 35.5 x 24.3 x 2.5 cm
signed, inscribed, and dated on the bottom: 'K. Laszczka | To T. Żuk-Skarszewski | May 1928'
Biography
From 1885, he studied in Warsaw under the guidance of Jan Kryński and Ludwik Pyrowicz. After winning first prize in a competition organized by the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, he spent the years 1891–96 in Paris on a scholarship, where he studied under Antoine Mercié, Alexandre Falguière, and Jean Léon Gérôme. After returning from Paris, he lived in Warsaw until 1899, then moved to Kraków, where he took up the chair of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, a position he held until 1935. From 1900 to 1910, he served as artistic patron of Józef Niedźwiecki’s tile and pottery factory in Dębniki near Kraków. He was one of the founders of TAP “SZTUKA.” In his sculptural work, Konstanty Laszczka was influenced by Auguste Rodin, a fact particularly evident in the female nudes he carved in the early 20th century, which were executed in the Art Nouveau style. He also worked in monumental and portrait sculpture. Laszczka also created medals, portrait medallions, and commemorative plaques. The artist’s great passion was ceramics, to which he devoted himself more and more over the years. He also painted landscapes and worked in printmaking and satirical drawing.
