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Portrait of Maria Malczewska, the Artist's Wife

Jacek Malczewski

Basic information

ID: Г-V-1375
Author: Jacek Malczewski
Name: Portrait of Maria Malczewska, the Artist's Wife
Country: Poland
Technique: drawing
Material: Indian ink pen paper
Dimensions: 19 x 12.3 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: portraiture
Provenance: Collection of Lviv Museum of Ukrainian Art

Information about author

Author: Jacek Malczewski
Author in the original: Jacek Malczewski
Artist's lifetime: 1854–1929
Country: Poland
Biography: Jacek Malczewski (July 14, 1854, Radom, Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire – October 8, 1929, Krakow, Republic of Poland) was an outstanding artist and one of the most prominent representatives of Polish Symbolism. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow, where his teacher was Jan Matejko. The artist participated in an archeological expedition to Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Greece, which was organized by Count Karol Lanckoronski. He also visited Munich and Italy. Jacek Malczewski was one of the founders of the art union "Sztuka" ("Art"). The artist's creative heritage includes landscapes and portraiture, symbolic compositions, interpretations of religious themes, and numerous self-portraits in various images.

Object description

Maria Malczewska was the wife of Jacek Malczewski from 1887, as well as the mother of his two children Julia and Rafal. In the spring of 1886, the artist met Maria, the daughter of Fortunat and Jozefa Gralewski, the wealthy Krakow burghers. The young bride enchanted the artist, and later Jacek Malczewski recalled: "Marynia had a shape similar to a lily stalk, and the flower was her head". In November of the same year, they were engaged; on October 29, 1887, the wedding ceremony took place in the Church of St. Mary in Krakow. Despite the fact that the married life was difficult, the couple remained together for the rest of their lives; Jacek Malczewski portrayed Maria for years, including such works as “Portrait of the Bride” (1887) as well as her other images of the 1920s.

Inscriptions

At the bottom of the painting there is an inscription "Potwierdzam autentyczność /Wlastimil Hofman/ Ze spuścizny Mojego Męża Jacka Malczewskiego/moj portret.Maria Malczewska/"

Portrayed person