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Jozef Mehoffer

Basic information

ID: Ж-1608
Author: Jozef Mehoffer
Name: Conversation
Date of creation: 1896
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions: 99 x 175 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: genre art
Provenance: Collection of Lviv City Gallery
Exposition: Lozinski Palace

Information about author

Author: Jozef Mehoffer
Author in the original: Józef Mehoffer
Artist's lifetime: 1869–1946
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland
Biography: Jozef Mehoffer possessed a versatile artistic talent. A master of easel and monumental painting, a stage designer, graphic artist, poster designer, and stained-glass and textile designer, he was one of the leaders of Polish Art Nouveau. This movement became known as "Young Poland" ("Młoda Polska"). Mehoffer was educated at the Faculty of Law of the Jagiellonian University, and in 1887–1894 studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków under the supervision of Izydor Jabłoński, Józef Unierzyski, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, and Jan Matejko.
In 1889–1890, he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1891–1896 also refined his skills in Paris: initially at the Académie Julian and the National School of Decorative Arts (École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs), then at the Académie Colarossi under Joseph Blanc and Gustave Courtois, and from 1892 at the National School of Fine Arts (École Nationale des Beaux-Arts) in the studio of Léon Bonnat. From 1905, he was a professor at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and later served as its rector.
Jozef Mehoffer was married to Jadwiga Janakowska and had a son, Zbigniew. The artist lived primarily in Kraków but also travelled extensively, notably to Italy and Switzerland. He achieved international recognition for his stained-glass windows, produced in 1895–1936 for the Gothic Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas in Fribourg (Switzerland). The artist died of tuberculosis on 8 July 1946 in Wadowice and was buried at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków. A museum dedicated to the artist was established in Jozef Mehoffer's house in Kraków, at 26 Krupnicza Street.

Object description

A genre scene showing a group of people in a room against the background of a decorated wall rug during a conversation. On the left side of the canvas are three women and a red-haired man wearing a pince-nez, while another man (dark-haired, with a beard, dressed in a black suit and white shirt) stands apart from the others (shown on the right side of work), but his gaze is directed towards everyone else.

Inscriptions

On the top left is the author's signature: "Józef Mehoffer 1896".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Conversation

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