Jan Stanislawski, OBLOK, ca. 1900

Signed l.d.: JAN STANISLAWSKI

On the reverse side, typewritten card with a ruling by Dr. Kazimierz Buczkowski and Prof. Dr. Feliks Kopera, dated March 1946, confirming the authenticity of the painting.

It is not without reason that Stanislawski was considered a bard of the Polish landscape. One searches in vain for people in his paintings. Dazzled by views of nature's wonders, he became a poet of the landscape. His miniature works, painted with all sincerity, exemplify the artist's painterly perfection. He encapsulates huge stretches of landscape into small frames, without losing the feeling of spaciousness. In the painting on display, the artist has given the dominant role to a cloud, bathed in sunlight, suspended over the edge of the forest.

Jan Stanislawski (Olshana in Ukraine 1860 - Krakow 1907) - an outstanding landscape painter, printmaker and 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.