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Lviv. Cityscape

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-I-605
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Lviv. Cityscape
Date of creation: 1900s
Technique: drawing
Material: paper on cardboard watercolour Indian ink
Dimensions: 15.8 x 15.3 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: cityscape

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 the artist’s early works, created before his trips to Paris. It depicts a fragment of central Lviv – the view from the George Hotel and the beginning of Henryk Sienkiewicz Street (now Mykola Voronyi Street) towards the intersection of St Mary’s Square (now Adam Mickiewicz Square) and Halytska Square. The compositional focus is a building at the contemporary address Valova Street, No. 2–4, situated in the background on the second plane. On the right, a ground-floor shop window of the George Hotel is shown, bearing the sign “Ubrania męskie” (men’s clothing). The glass reflects the silhouette of the building standing vis-à-vis. Figures of people, rendered in black Indian ink, are present near the window and in the background. In his use of colour, the artist boldly employs tonal contrasts, emphasising spatial depth and the rhythm of the urban landscape.

Inscriptions

In the lower right part of the work, there is an inscription, “Odo Dobr.”, written in italics.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Lviv. Cityscape

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