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For the fourth time, the exhibition has been prepared by the Krakow Festival Office in cooperation with the National Museum in Krakow. It presents the development of the types and techniques of portrait paining, which constitutes a large part of Stanisław Wyspiański’s work. The visitors are introduced to this rich aspect of Wyspiański’s art through a carefully thought out selection of reproductions and an erudite commentary by Marta Romanowska, Ph.D.
The exhibition begins with examples of Wyspiański’s self-portraits, including the first and the last painting of this type. We can admire honest and uncompromising pieces, alluding to works by such European masters as Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Wyspiański had the rare ability to expose his own emotional state through his self-portraits and he took advantage of this skill in a truly ingenious way.
From: Krakowskie Biuro Festiwalowe
Another type of portrait the artist specialized in was female portrait. The exhibition presents a wide array of female types: from ideal or idealized women as well as sacred and lay images of virgins, to anonymous models emanating biological power.
The theme of motherhood occupies a prominent place in Wyspiański’s work, with the interesting painting entitled Motherhood with Helenas. On one canvas, the artist showed two images of the same girl, surprising the viewer and making him reflect on the lyricism of the composition.
Another group of portraits, which make up a series, are paintings of children. Thanks to his great sensitivity and intuition, coupled with the boldness and freshness of his lines, Wyspiański managed to create unforgettable, highly original works of art, showing children in a natural and tender way. Sometimes sleepy or even asleep, sometimes pensive, interested or bored – they make us admire the individual character of each painting. It is this ability to show human personality caught in a moment – a photographic still of an instant, enriched with a subjective emphasis on mood – what decides about the originality of Wyspiański’s portraits of children.
The exhibition also includes descriptions and examples of theatre portraits and portraits of men. All of them, apart from their artistic value, are of great historical importance, making up a collective portrait of Krakow’s residents of the time.
Exhibition open until 31 August in the Wyspiański 2000 Pavilion (Krakow, Plac Wszystkich Świętych 2), admission free!
