Teofil Ociepka, THE BIRTH OF MAN, 1949

75.5 x 121.0cm - oil, paper pasted on cardboard Other titles: Birth of the God of Man, Birth of Man, Birth of the God of Man

Signed p.d.: Ociepka. | 1949 r.



On the reverse:

- l.d. fragment of sticker (mpis.): Title: "The Nativity of Man" | Surname and first name: Ociepka Teofil | [...] Zw. Zaw. Gór.... [Trade Union of Miners in Janów Śląski];

- p.d. Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Cracow with details of the painting;

- p.g. and p.d. stamps of the Fibak Gallery and the Fibak Monte Carlo Collection.





Provenance:

- Property of Julianna Ociepka, wife of the artist.

- Collection of Wojciech Fibak, Monte Carlo.

- Private collection, Cracow.



Image exhibited, reproduced and described:

- Exhibition of Teofil Ociepka from Katowice, Nikifor from Krynica, Guidon Reck from Szczecin, Halina Jastrzębska, Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Cracow, IX 1957 [exhibition cat.], cat. no. 12, il. p.-b., p. nlb;

- A. Banach, Ociepka. Painter of the Seventh Day, Cracow 1958, p. 18, il. part.-b;

- Painting: Nikifor, T. Ociepka, P. Stolorz, W. Wróbel. Sculpture: L. Kudła, CBWA "Zachęta", VII-VIII 1958 [exhibition cat.], cat. no. 2, p. 24, il. p.-b., p. nlb;

- Fairy tale and realism, "Orka," no. 32, Aug. 10, 1958, fig. p.-b. [Zachęta's virtual media library];

- On the exhibition Nikifor, Kudla and the Three Miners. Primitive, naive and beautiful art, "Peasant Road," No. 70, Aug. 31, 1958, fig. ch.-b. [Zachęta virtual media library];

- Primitive art in "Zachęta", "Głos Koszaliński", no. 185, August 6, 1958, il. ch.-b. (Zachęta virtual Mediatheque);

- From the exhibition at "Zachęta", "Gazeta Robotnicza Wrocław", no. 182, August 4, 1958, il. p.-b. [ Zachęta's virtual Mediatheque ];

- Meeting with Teofil Ociepka, 1962, documentary film, directed by T. Makarczyński, 4'55''- 5'17'';

- A. Banach, Ociepka, Arkady 1988, il. p.b. on facing pages (fragments), il. 9 (entirety); 10-13 (fragments), p. nlb;

- S.A. Wisłocki, Master Teofil Ociepka. Between power and truth, Katowice 2010, il. p.-b., p. 59.



Created in 1949, The Birth of a Man is one of Teofil Ociepka's best-known and most appreciated works. This is evidenced by the presence of the painting in exhibitions, as well as the positive response it received in the press of the time. Among others, Bożena Kowalska wrote about it in the pages of "Ekran" in 1958: The subject matter of Teofil Ociepka's paintings is fantastic. Antediluvian fauna and flora with tree-like ferns and huge lizards fill the artist's canvases, with a poetic mood and thematic ideas. The birth of man is depicted by Ociepka in a scene where a tiny infant appears amidst a bizarre landscape and equally unusual animals in the open cup of a flower (...). The baby's head is surrounded by a halo, which is a clear reference to traditional Christian iconography. The surprising combination of its elements with depictions of lush nature and fairy-tale creatures was a measure of the phenomenon of the work of a painter-miner endowed with an uncommon imagination.



♣ An additional fee will be added to the Purchase Price based on the right of the creator and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Law of February 4, 1994 - on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite).



Teofil Ociepka (Janow Slaski 1891 - Bydgoszcz 1978) was a naive painter, the most outstanding representative of this variety of art in Poland next to Nikifor. He graduated from public school, then at the age of 15, after the death of his father, he took a job to support his family. Until retirement, he worked in a mine in Upper Silesia. From childhood, he was interested in folk tales and fables, as well as occult theories, with which he was plugged through F. Hohmann, a German follower of Rosicrucian ideas, with whom he remained in contact for many years. Influenced by these interests, he joined an occult commune active in Janow (a district of Katowice). The group, which existed from the 1930s to the 1960s, was composed mainly of miners who devoted themselves to metaphysical quests and the exploration of Hermetic sciences. To these ideas Ociepka also subordinated his painting, developing in two stages. Initially, between 1927 and 1930, he learned the painting technique independently and with difficulty, creating his best works. He took up painting again after a seventeen-year hiatus, in 1947, at which time he achieved proficiency with the brush and an individual style. He had a distinctive, meticulous way of depicting and his own stock of motifs, which included images of beasts and fantastic plants in settings of paradise gardens. As the years passed, his painting became somewhat mannered. The story of the painter and the occult group from Janow inspired director Lech Majewski to make a film entitled "Angelus" (2001).