oil on cardboard , 36,5x33,5cm, in frame 53x49,5cm, described on the reverse
oil sketch to the painting "In the hucul's chamber" - painting is in the National Museum in Cracow
sketch received from the artist as a souvenir Maria Podlewska during her studies in Paris 1892-93 and in Munich in 1905 1906, where they met many times.
On the reverse of the collector's stamp
The painting belongs to Szymanowski's early painting work, which was dominated by rural motifs, landscapes and portraits. It depicts a group of peasants in a country house, probably Hutsuls, listening to the stories of an elderly man sitting on a bench.
The most outstanding Polish sculptor of the modern era. He studied at the Drawing Class under Wojciech Gerson in Warsaw, and then in Paris, in the studio of Cyprian Godebski (1875-79) and the École des Beaux-Arts under Eugene Delaplanche (1879-90). He also studied painting at the Munich academy. From 1895-1905 he lived in Paris. In 1913 and in the period 1921-22 he stayed in Italy. From 1922 he lived in the country. In his early work, Szymanowski devoted himself mainly to painting, creating paintings of rural themes, landscapes and portraits. Circa. 1976 he devoted himself almost exclusively to sculpture. His early sculptures showed the influence of the detail-oriented and realistic modeling of academic aesthetics. However, later, thanks to his inspiration from the work of Constantin Meunier and especially Auguste Rodin, the form of Szymanowski's sculptures began to undergo generalization, with the appearance of fluid, Art Nouveau contours and a sketchy treatment of the solid. The asymmetrical form arranged in the shape of a wave, which dynamizes the composition, became a favorite motif used by the artist. Among the artist's outstanding completed monumental works are the ARTUR GROTTGER MONument in the Planty park in Cracow (designed in 1898, unveiled in 1903) and the FRYDERYK CHOPIN MONument in Warsaw's Lazienki Park. Among Szymanowski's rich oeuvre, portraits are also noteworthy, in which faithful rendering of the model's physiognomy is combined with sketchy virtuosity in modeling the figure (e.g., Jacek Malczewski, Leon Karwacki, Janina Wierusz-Kowalska).
