Portrait of Jarociński

Aleksander Kokular is an important figure in the Warsaw artistic life of the first half of the 19th century. Apart from his artistic work, he made a significant contribution as a collector. He initiated antiquarian trade in works of art in Warsaw, and he was also responsible for restoring and selling paintings from Aleksander Potocki's collection in the 1830s and 1840s. Besides, he co-founded the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw and belonged to the freemasons. Kokular was counted among the representatives of late classicism. Portret Jarocińskiego [The Portrait of Jarociński] was created in such a spirit. The picture was painted in the tonality of broken grey blues combined with a large black spot, a frock coat. He is wearing a white shirt and a handkerchief of the same colour tied at the neck, combined with a brightly depicted face, painted smoothly, with green shades and pink, shining cheeks, ears and nose. The round, wide-open eyes attract attention; it is in them and the tense, rather a serious mouth that the main character trait of the sitter is written. The portrait fulfils the requirements of this type of representation from the Classical period, aiming to show the rank and seriousness of the portrayed figure.

Beata Małgorzata Wolska