Dimensions: 75 x 135 cm
Signed p.d.: 'Józef Brandt'
historical titles: Return after taking Strygony, Return of Polish troops from under Vienna, Return of Polish troops from Vienna expedition, Return from Vienna after taking Strygony, Rückkehr polnischer Truppen über die Karpathen nach der Schlacht bei Wien im Jahre 1683
State of preservation
expert opinion of Zofia Katarzyna Posiadała dated March 2, 2015
Origin
collection of Leon Epstein (1834-1903), Warsaw industrialist (purchase from TZSP 1865?)
private collection, Cracow (before 1939)
private collection, Mexico
private collection, Poland
DESA Unicum, October 2020
private collection, Poland
Exhibited
Józef Brandt 1841-1915, National Museum in Warsaw, June 22 - September 30, 2018, National Museum in Poznań, October 28, 2018 - January 6, 2019.
Salon of Gracjan Ungra, Warsaw, 1882
Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw, 1865
Kunstverein, Munich, 1865
Literature
Józef Brandt 1841-1915, scholarly editing by Ewa Micke-Broniarek, exhibition catalog, National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 2018, cat. no. I.16
Irena Olchowska-Schmidt, Pochody i powroty motif drogi na obrazach Józefa Brandt, in Polish Painters in Munich. Materials from the scientific session, edited by Zbigniew Fałtynowicz, Eliza Ptaszyńska, Suwałki 2007, p. 144
Jerzy Malinowski, Polish Painting of the XIX century, Warsaw 2003, pp. 181, 183
Irena Olchowska-Schmidt, Józef Brandt, Cracow 1996, p. 21
Jerzy Malinowski, Imitations of the world, Cracow 1987, p. 123
Janina Wiercińska, Catalogue of works exhibited at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw in the years 1860-1914, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków 1969, p. 32
Bogdan Zakrzewski, Sienkiewicz and Brandt, typescript, doctoral dissertation, 1947, University Library in Poznań, reference 999771, pp. 61, 112
Michal Synoradzki, From Warsaw, "Biesiada Literacka" 1915, no. 27, p. 2.
Henryk Piątkowski, Józef Brandt, "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" 1915, no. 25, p. 393
Henryk Piątkowski, Józef Brandt, "Wanderer" 1905, no. 40, p. 758
S., Józef Brandt, "Wanderer" 1899, no. 50, p. 985
Wojciech Gerson, Exhibition of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts. Paintings by Józef Brandt, "Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne" 1887, no. 178, p. 113
"Literary Feast," 1883, no. 403, pp. 184-185 (il.)
Wanda Marrené (M.), Review of fine arts, "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" 1882, no. 317, p. 38.
A. Plough (Antoni Pietkiewicz), Józef Brandt, "Kłosy" 1879, no. 723, p. 295
Józef Brandt, "Kurier Codzienny" 1879, no. 76, p. 1
Report of the Committee of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in the Kingdom, Warsaw 1874, p. 66
A. (Alexander Lesser), From the field of painting and sculpture, "Kłosy" 1868, no. 145, p. 209
A. (Alexander Lesser), From the field of painting and sculpture, "Kłosy" 1868, no. 166, p. 113
L. J. (Ludwik Jenike), Brandt and Gryglewski, "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" 1868, no. 33, p. 81
J. K. T. (Jan Kanty Turski), Artistic review, "Kłosy" 1866, no. 65, p. 147
Jan Kanty Turski, Exhibition of paintings. Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych w Królestwie Polskim, "Kłosy" 1865, no. 17, p. 199
Münchner Kunstbericht, "Morgenblatt zur Bayerische Zeitung" 1864, no. 147&148, p. 498
Ludwig Buszard, Chronicle of the Fine Arts. Painting. Sculpture, "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" 1865, no. 318, p. 179.
ARCHIVES:
Pruszak family archive, Inventory of paintings by Jozef Brandt (painted until 1908), manuscript, item 10.
Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom, Art Department, inv. no. Dspl. 16 (photograph of painting from the artist's collection)
National Museum in Warsaw, Iconographic and Photographic Collections, inv. no. DI 60011 MNW (photo of painting published by Wojciech Piechowski in 1882, from the collection of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts)
Biography
After graduating from the Institute of Nobility in 1858, he left to study engineering at the École des Ponts et Chaussess in Paris, but with the encouragement of Juliusz Kossak, he devoted himself to the study of painting. For a time he studied in the studio of Leon Cogniet, and also took advice from Juliusz Kossak and Henryk Rodakowski. In 1862 he went to Munich, where he began studying in the studio of F. Adam and T. Horschelt, and from 17. 02. 1863 he studied at the Munich Academy, mainly under K. von. Piloty. In 1869 he received a 1st class medal at the Glaspalast international exhibition, and from 1878 he was an honorary professor at the Academy. He settled permanently in Munich, where in 1866 he established a studio that brought together all Polish artists residing in the city. From around 1875 he ran a kind of unofficial private school for young painters, mainly Poles. He left Munich only during the summer months, which he spent at his Orońsk estate near Radom and traveling in Podolia, Volhynia, Ukraine and the European part of Turkey. He was an active member of the Münchener Kunstverein - from 1864 to 1913 he was an ordinary member of the association, and in 1874 and 1875 he was a board member. He won great public acclaim and many top honors and titles - in 1891 he was awarded the Grand Gold Medal at an international exhibition in Berlin, from 1875 he was a member of the Berlin Academy of Art, from 1878 an honorary professor at the Bavarian Academy, and from 1900 an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He was primarily a battle painter. The scenery of the events depicted by the artist was usually the eastern borderlands of the seventeenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, during the era of Cossack wars and Tartar invasions. The main motifs of the artist's paintings were Cossacks, Tatars, foxhunters, Polish knights of the 17th, where the most important role was played by horses in showy movements and colorful figures of horsemen in the heat of battle, also scenes of hunting and noisy bazaars. The artist's paintings can be found in almost all Polish museums, as well as in collections and private collections in Europe and America.
