Franciszek KOSTRZEWSKI (1826-1911), Market in a small town, 1893

Woodcut, paper; 22 x 35 cm (light passe-partout);
Signed p. d.: F.KOSTRZEWSKI and by the xylographer l. d." F.ZABŁOCKI.
From the portfolio "Album of Fr. Kostrzewski" published by S. Leventhal, 1893.
Franciszek Kostrzewski-realist painter, creator of genre scenes, illustrator, satirical cartoonist, caricaturist. Studied: from 1844 at the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw (with Jan Feliks Piwarski, Chrystian Breslauer, Aleksander Kokular, among others), in 1856 he stayed in Paris. During his studies he traveled around the country painting landscapes and genre scenes documenting the life of small towns of the time. After returning to Poland (1856), he began his illustration activities. His illustrations appeared in Warsaw magazines, and he also illustrated books. Kostrzewski is considered a forerunner of Polish comics. He is the author of one of the oldest Polish comics-"Historya Jedynaczka w 32 obrazkach" (third issue of "Tygodnik Ilustrowany", 3.X.1859.).
Feliks ZABŁOCKI (1846-1874)-Warsaw wood engraver. Active in the years 1863-1874.Until 1867 he engraved for "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" and then for "Kłosy". In 1871, together with Wladyslaw Bojarski, Ignacy Chelmicki and Bronislaw Puce, he organized a cooperative-"Drzeworytnia Warszawska", in which woodcuts were engraved for illustrated magazines, mainly Russian. As a result of the growth of the business, the wood engravers established a branch in St. Petersburg. [for: min. Wikipedia].