Leon Wyczółkowski’s “W pracowni malarza” / “In the Painter’s Studio” on display at a press conference held at the National Museum in Warsaw, December 7, 2011, photography: the National Museum in Warsaw
Looted in the time of World War II and lost for decades, Leon Wyczółkowski’s painting “In the Painter’s Studio” has finally been returned to the National Museum in Warsaw in time for the 150th anniversary of its establishment
Wyczółkowski’s work from 1883 depicts a young woman in mourning looking at a portrait of a man placed on an easel in the painter’s studio. The painting was bought from a German art merchant and donated to the museum by Witold Konieczny and Roman Kruszewski, co-owners of Wydawnictwo Wiedza i Praktyka publishing house.
“In the Painter’s Studio” was looted during World War II in unknown circumstances and was listed in the inventory of Polish wartime art losses. In mid-2009 the painting was put up for auction by the German Kunst- und Auktionshauses Peter Karbstein. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland immediately filed a restitution request, however it did not manage to withdraw the work from the auction due to a lack of pre-war visual documentation. Following a long auction, the work was purchased by a German art merchant for 18 thousand Euros. Since the painting was sold at an auction, in accordance with the German law it became impossible to reclaim the painting as a work looted in times of war.
In early 2011, DESA Unicum auction house was informed that Wyczółkowski’s work was put up for sale in Germany. DESA offered gratuitous help to its customers – Witold Konieczny and Roman Kruszewski, co-owners of a publishing house Wydawnictwo Wiedza i Praktyka – in finding the vendor and purchasing the painting in order to donate it to the National Museum in Warsaw. .Witold Konieczny explained that as soon as he and his business partner had been informed that the painting was available for sale from the DESA Unicum auction house, they decided upon the purchase immediately.
"We decided to buy the painting and donate it to the National Museum. Not even a single thought to keep the painting crossed our minds", he added. The purchse and donation of the painting was also supported by a German co-owner of the publishing house: VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG. “In the Painter’s Studio” returned to Poland last week
At the press conference announcing the donation, National Museum Director in Warsaw Agnieszka Morawińska gave the following statement:
This early work of the then 31-year-old painter is part of quite a popular series of genre paintings featuring themes from salons and boudoirs of Warsaw, which convey the atmosphere of the social life of the capital city of that time. The Intimate representation, the melancholy in the depiction of the young woman in mourning looking at a portrait of a young man placed on an easel and comparing the image to a photography held in her hand create an atmosphere of sombreness and concentration so different from the remaining painting of the series, which are light and cheerful.
The painting was originally purchased in 1883, most probably from the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, by a well-known Warsaw doctor Konstanty Karwowski (1834-1918), a laryngologist and inventor of new medical solutions, social activist and art collector, Doctor Karwowski gathered a valuable collection of Polish paintings and sculptures as well as a rich collection of books in his apartment at the Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. In 1918, soon before his death, he donated his collections, including Wyczółkowski’s “In the Painter’s Studio”, to the National Museum in Warsaw. The work had been part of the museum’s collection until World War II. In 1937 it was presented at the artist’s solo exhibition held at the gallery of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts.
Since its donation to the National Museum in Warsaw the painting has undergone minor conservation works and is currently ready to be exhibited to a wide audience. As Agnieszka Morawińska said, the painting will be on display at the gallery of the National Museum in Warsaw on May 17, 2012 when the museum reopens after several months of renovation in time for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of its original opening.
Leon Wyczółkowski (1852-1936) was one of the most outstanding painters of the Young Poland movement. Initially devoted to historical and religious subjects, he was then inspired by the Impressionism. The painter’s detailed drawings are considered masterpieces. He ornamented dark interiors of churches and painted mystical scenes featuring the Wawel Castle in Kraków. Wyczółkowski was fascinated by the Tatra Mountains, which he depicted in a realistic and symbolic fashion. The 75th anniversary of his death falls on December 27 this year.
Source: PAP, press release