Sgraffito, canvas, board; dimensions: 78 x 98 cm; unsigned. (Confirmation of authenticity, certificate). Work (photo) in the archive of the artist's family.
Exhibited painting: Waclaw Taranczewski "Morskie Oko", MAŁA Gallery in Nałęczów, - 07.09 - 07.10. 2017. (Waclaw and Pawel Taranczewski in Nałęczów: Link 1.; Link 2.).
The technique (sgraffito) consisted of applying successive colored layers of plaster or colored clays and scraping off the yet-to-be-dried (not hardened) top layers. As a result, by exposing previously applied layers, a two- or multi-colored pattern is created. Waclaw Taranczewski, richer in experience from the implementation of wall compositions in this technique in 1958-1964, created paintings, sgraffits, among others: cycles: Venus of Willendorf, Morskie Oko and a dozen or so single compositions: Still Life with Shell, Still Life on the Window, Lotuses, Directions ....
Later, he abandoned this technique - probably due to the labor-intensive nature and time spent on the execution of each work. Due to the small number of works made in this technique, they undoubtedly have collector value in addition to their artistic value.
Outstanding painter representing the trend of 20th century colorism. He studied at the Poznan School of Decorative Arts, the Cracow Academy of Fine Arts (under F. Pautsch and F. S. Kowarski) and the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. He was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. He belonged to the "Pryzmat" group, representing color tendencies. In 1935, the artist traveled to Paris. In 1937, together with Piotr Potworowski, he visited Greece and Italy. For a long time he was associated with Poznan, where he ran Salon 35. After World War II, he became one of the co-founders of the State Higher School of Fine Arts there.
His work was influenced by French painters such as G. Braque, H. Matisse and P. Cézanne. Initially, he painted still lifes, nudes and portraits, characterized by a certain geometrization and rich colors. He followed the principle that a painting is built of interacting color patches. He often additionally enriched the harmony of colors with a line, as illustrated, for example, in the interior scene entitled Trio. He created paintings arranged in cycles, transforming a selected motif in them; examples include the series Still Life with Vase, begun in 1948, paintings showing Little Painter, Concert at the Atelier. Trio, and the monumental series Krakow Venus of Willendorf or Sea Eye. In the 1950s, he was close to abstract painting.
Taranczewski was primarily involved in easel and wall painting. His work includes polychromes of the churches of Blessed Virgin Mary (1954) and St. Martin's (1957) and the plafond of the University auditorium, all in Poznań. He was also a designer of stained glass windows.
