Tinker

The silhouette of a young man focussed on his work in a small, darkened room introduces an atmosphere of concentration and contemplation. Hipolit Lipiński's Druciarz [Tinker] refers to the tradition of genre painting which carefully recreates work and everyday life as the main themes of the painting's representation.

In the 19th century, tinkers were one of the largest craftsmen groups who used metal for a variety of household purposes. One of the most frequent needs was to reinforce broken or crumbled ceramic vessels with wire nets, fusing and strengthening the construction.

Lipiński's wire worker, engrossed in this activity, is concentrated on precisely wrapping the vessel placed on his lap. The painter exposes the modest decor of the room, showing poor furnishings consisting of a few basic vessels placed on a cooker over a glowing fire. However, all the attention is focussed on the young man's hands and face, illuminated by an external light hidden from the viewer. The composition of the scene strengthens concentration and directs attention to simple activities. The young man, immersed in his world, praises careful craftsmanship. The scene describes everyday life as a state of unusual focus, concentration, and transcendence.

In his works from different periods, Lipiński reached for multi-character, historical, and landscape scenes, but above all he was an attentive observer of the everyday rhythm of life in the scenery of Krakow's markets, religious celebrations, etc. An early work – a study of a wireman – foreshadows these interests. Everyday life treated in an extremely sparing and intimate way recalls the long tradition of genre painting of the Dutch type. Using chiaroscuro, the artist brings out the atmosphere and humbly accentuates the dimension of everyday life and repetitive duties. The viewer is not disturbed by the imperfect proportions of the young man, the deformations of the not very skilfully reproduced figure. On the contrary, they add uniqueness and charm to the whole scene.

Marcin Lachowski