Jacek Malczewski, Male Nude

drawing, pencil, paper, size 47x28 cm in light passepartout, signed and dated l.d. "JMalczewski Krakow 14 February 1873" and "N XIV", on the back a circular stamp with a coat of arms in the center and an inscription on the rim "From the collection of Maria Malczewska".

A rare and early drawing by Jacek Malczewski (1854 - 1924) from the beginning of his artistic career. The artist, as a seventeen-year-old, began his studies at a gymnasium in Cracow and at the same time attended the Cracow School of Fine Arts as a free student. At the insistence of Jan Matejko, the artist's parents agreed that he take up full-time studies there. The presented male nude comes from this period. It is probably a study from nature, made in the school's studio, which shows the already high level of workshop proficiency of the then 19-year-old Malczewski. A year later, the author left to study in Paris, from where he returned to the Master's studio in 1877. For lovers of Malczewski's work, this is an important and valuable document of his earliest years, showing the full extent of his abilities and artistic potential developed in the following years.