Female nude

Zbigniew Pronaszko studied in the studios of Teodor Axentowicz and Jacek Malczewski. He played an important role as one of the founding fathers of Formism. Thus, he actively participated in activities influencing the formation of modern art in Poland. In the ideological programme of this group, one finds a definition of an image as a logical filling up of a certain space with certain defined forms, constituting a uniform, unchangeable organism. Behind it is an attitude calling for perceiving a work of art as an autonomous whole that is not obliged to reflect reality. Pronaszko has made several sculptures. He has never studied this technique, but he took his passion for it from his home. His reflections on the possibilities of this material have also influenced his painting; it has brought about interesting effects, especially in his depictions of the female body. In the National Museum in Szczecin, there is Akt kobiecy [The Female Nude] from around 1921. It is a one-panel composition. A naked woman with her hair pinned up sits against a background of drapery. The left hand is straightened, the model is leaning on it, which gives a kind of self-confidence in her posture, the right hand is placed behind her head. The woman is looking down. The expression on her face is quite neutral; it is impossible to speak of any special involvement of the artist in showing her personality or emotional state. It is definitely more important to show the body, in a similar way as Pronaszko did in sculpture. It is a painting from the period of his visible breakthrough in artistic activity. At that time, he created portraits in a style close to cubism, and at the same time he began to search for new solutions which brought about the valorisation of colours and a softer treatment of form. That is how, among others, the painting Dwa akty kobiety z gitarą [Two Female Nudes with a Guitar] from 1922 is painted.

Beata Małgorzata Wolska