oil, canvas - unevenly trimmed - glued on cardboard, 22.1 - 22.8 x 30.9 cm
Signed l.d.: JAN STANISŁAWSKI
On the back in pencil number: 483; in addition, illegible inscriptions.
Provenance:
The painting was exhibited at the Agra-Art Auction, March 22, 2015 as coming from the collection of the Natanson family, to which it was acquired in Paris from the artist himself. The then owner came into possession of it as a young boy in the 1930s. According to his account, Stanislawski was friends with his grandmother Louise and her sister Felicie, daughters of Rosa (Rose), and granddaughters of the well-known Warsaw physician Ludwik Natanson (1821-1896).
Captivated by the beauty of nature, its sensuality and vibrancy, Jan Stanislawski's painting could not remain indifferent to the motif of flowers, both the "noble" ones adorning exquisite gardens and parks, as well as the field ones blended into the wild landscape [...]. "He "portrayed" the colorful ones in full bloom, an indicator of the vital forces inherent in nature, and the withered ones, symbolizing the transience of life. This was quite in keeping with the spirit of the epoch of Young Poland, which succumbed to the post-1900 fascination with the vital forces of nature and surrendered to the idea of life affirmation and universal optimism.
S. Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Jan Stanislawski and his students, Ozarow Mazowiecki 2015, p. 21.
Flowers appear frequently in Stanislavski's paintings since 1885. The artist used this motif both to express color emotions and to construct his paintings. Most eagerly, however, writes Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, he placed flowers in the foreground and subjected them to the rules of a specific frame allowing the entire landscape to be subordinated to them [S. Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Jan Stanisławski...].
Jan Stanislawski (Olshana in Ukraine 1860 - Krakow 1907) - an outstanding landscape painter, graphic artist, educator - was one of the most colorful figures of the Krakow artistic milieu of the Young Poland era.
Initially in Warsaw and St. Petersburg, he studied mathematics, then painting under Wojciech Gerson in Warsaw, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz at the Cracow School of Fine Arts, and in 1885-1888 under Carolus Duran in Paris. He traveled extensively in Europe - he went to France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and traveled to Ukraine many times.
In 1895 he was in Berlin, where he collaborated with W. Kossak and J. Fałat in painting the Berezina panorama. In 1897 he became a professor of landscape painting at the Cracow School of Fine Arts, the creator of the so-called Cracow School of Landscape. He educated nearly 60 students, including S. Kamocki, H. Szczygliński, S. Filipkiewicz, I. Trusz and S. Galek. He was one of the founders of the Society of Polish Artists Art (1897), a member of the Society of Polish Applied Art (1901). He participated in many exhibitions.
Initially, he painted realistic landscapes based on preparatory studies from nature (numerous surviving sketchbooks). His later fascination with Impressionism led to experiments with light in landscapes and an increasing desire to synthesize color forms. During his travels, he created hundreds, mostly miniature landscapes painted directly in the open air.
He worked in printmaking, illustration, designed posters and theater decorations.
