Dimensions: 69 x 48.5 cm
signed p.g.: 'Olga Boznańska'
on the reverse a fragmentarily preserved paper exhibition sticker of Grosse Berliner Kunst-Austellung in Berlin
Origins
From the historic collection of Louis Charles Libaude (1869-1922), art dealer and collector, Paris
private collection, France
private collection, Poland
Exhibited
Grosse Berliner Kunst-Austellung, Berlin, 1901
Literature
Grosse Berliner Kunst-Austellung, exhibition catalog, Berlin-Stuttgart-Leipzig 1901, p. 9, cat. no. 126 (as "Damenbildnis")
Biography
One of the most prominent Polish artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially drawing lessons were given to the artist by her mother, Eugenia Mondan; in 1883-86 the artist studied under Kazimierz Pochwalski and Jozef Siedlecki. She also attended the A. Baraniecki Higher Courses for Women in Cracow, where Hipolit Lipinski and Antoni Piotrowski gave her lessons. In 1886-1889 she studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts under Karl Kricheldorf and Wilhelm Dürr. In Munich, she opened her own studio, remaining under the tutelage of Jozef Brandt and Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski. In 1895, replacing Theodor Hummel, she took over the management of the Painting School run by him. In 1898, she settled permanently in Paris. She was a member of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka", the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and the Polish Literary and Artistic Society in Paris, as well as the International Society of Sculptors, Engravers and Painters in London. Since 1886, when she made her debut at the Cracow Society of Friends of Fine Arts, she presented her works at exhibitions in Poland, Europe and the United States, including Berlin (1892, 1893, 1913.), Munich (1893), Prague, London and Paris (1896), Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh (1901, 1906, 1907, 1920-28), Vienna (1902, 1908), Amsterdam (1912) and Venice (1910, 1914, 1938). She was honored with numerous awards, including a gold medal at the Munich International Exhibition (1905), the French Legion of Honor (1912), the Grand Prix at the Expo Exhibition in Paris (1939) and the Order of Polonia Restituta (1938). She was first and foremost a portraitist; the images she created of both famous people and ordinary models are part of the trend of expressive modernist portraiture. In her paintings, the artist focused on the model's face, conveying the state of his psyche and the mood of the moment. He also painted still lifes and flowers, as well as interiors, especially of his own studios.
