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Bernardine Church in Lviv

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-IV-5172
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Bernardine Church in Lviv
Date of creation: 1915
Technique: colour autolithography
Material: imprint on paper
Dimensions: 29.6 x 41 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: printmaking
Genre: landscape

Information about author

Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Author in the original: Odo (Otton) Dobrowolski
Artist's lifetime: 1883–1917
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire
Biography: Odo (Otton) Dobrowolski (1883, Chernivtsi – 1917, Kyiv) was a Lviv artist of Polish–German origin, primarily known as a master of graphic art and lithography, as well as an exceptional watercolourist and pastellist.
He was born into the family of Józef Dobrowolski, an official at the Austrian governorship of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and Eugenia Wittich. The artist was likely named after Otto the Great, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. After graduating from a gymnasium in Lviv, in the mid-1900s he studied in Kraków as a non-degree student at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Between 1908 and 1909, thanks to the support of the painter Jan Styka, Dobrowolski lived in Paris, followed by a brief stay in Munich. Upon returning to Lviv, between 1909 and 1910, the artist executed an oil decorative panel for the confectionery of Gabriela Zapolska – a famous playwright, actress, and one of the most prominent figures of the local bohemian elite. In 1911–1912, he worked in Paris once again. Following his return to Lviv, during the Russian occupation of the city during the First World War, he created a highly popular series of ten lithographs.
In June 1915, alongside the retreating Russian forces, the artist departed for Kyiv, where in 1917 the 34-year-old master died under unresolved circumstances.
The creative heritage of Odo Dobrowolski encompasses numerous cityscapes featuring views of Lviv and Paris, alongside portraits, interior sketches, and nature studies. His works are held in Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery, the National Museum in Kraków, the National Library and the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, as well as in private collections.

Object description

One of ten works from a lithographic series depicting views of Lviv during the russian occupation in the winter of 1915. The view shows the Bernardine Church with its bell tower from the west, from Halytska Square – the ensemble is revealed most effectively from this vantage point. However, the artist chooses a perspective in which the bell tower becomes the principal compositional element, while the column of St John (Jan) of Dukla is completely obscured. The square in front of the church is empty, and the mass of the building is emphasised only by the orange glow of a street lamp before the façade. The light in the windows of the buildings adjacent to the bell tower further highlights its volume. The work is executed in muted grey tones. Both the snow and the sky are depicted darkened.

Inscriptions

In the lower left corner are the author's signature and date, "Оdo Dobrowolski / 915", written in italics.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery