Dimensions: 40.5 x 50 cm
Signed l.d.: 'T. Axentowicz'
on the reverse: stamp of Róża Aleksandrowicz's stockist of painting accessories in Cracow
Literature
compare: Teodor Axentowicz 1859-1938, exhibition catalog, National Museum in Cracow, Silesian Museum in Katowice, Cracow 1998, cat. no. II. 15, p. 86 (ill.)
Biography
Teodor Axentowicz studied at the Munich academy under Gabriel von Hackl and with professors Sandor Wagner and Guyla Benczur in 1879-82. In 1883 he went to Paris, where he studied in the studio of Emil August Carolus-Duran. He made many artistic trips to Italy, London, among other places. In 1895 he took the position of professor of drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, and in 1910 became its first rector by choice. He was a co-founder of the Society of Polish Artists "Art" and a member of the Vienna "Secession". He was one of the most prominent Polish portraitists; he also painted genre and historical scenes. His favorite subjects were scenes with Hutsul motifs - character studies, customs, beliefs - painted with attention to detail, yet very freely, and symbolic representations.