Jozef Pankiewicz (1866 Lublin - 1940 Marseille), Flowers in a vase, l. 1917-1918

oil, canvas pasted on cardboard, 48 × 33 cm (light frame)
Signed p. d.: "Pankiewicz".

The painting is accompanied by an expert opinion by Dr. Prof. Michal Haake

After the outbreak of World War I, Jozef Pankiewicz and his wife Wanda leave for Spain, where they first live in Barcelona for a few weeks and then move to Madrid. Madrid at the time appeared to be teeming with artistic life and extraordinary wealth. It was here that artists from war-torn Europe found refuge. "Already after the end of the war, these times were recalled by Pankiewicz in a letter to Jasienski: "From the beginning of the war [...] we were in Spain, almost constantly in Madrid. Existence was hard and unpleasant, and it was impossible to make use of time as under normal conditions. However, I painted, and since paintings in Spain cannot be sold, so you will probably see them when I return to the country." In Madrid, Jozef Pankiewicz met Robert Delaunay, with whom he shared a studio, and probably under his influence he changed his painting formula. During this period, called "the era of pure color" by the master himself, Pankiewicz introduced blocky architecture and cubist objects into his paintings to form still lifes, and organized his compositions not on the basis of geometric construction, but using color to build them up. He lightened the color palette by introducing pink and lilac shades, surprising in their intensity, and sharp green." (Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, "Józef Pankiewicz," Krakow 1996, p. 18)
"Pankiewicz began far-reaching Fauvist experiments with color [...] In the paintings painted at the time, accents are distributed differently, but the Fauvist tendency dominates. Flatly laid patches of pure colors, reaching maximum intensity, build up the form." (Elżbieta Charazińska, "Józef Potakiewicz's battle for pure painting," in "Józef Pankiewicz. Life and Work. To the Artist on the 140th Anniversary of his Birth", National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 2006, p. 18.)