Portrait of mother

Between 1886 and 1889 Olga Boznańska studied at the Royal-Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts under Karl Kricheldorf and Wilhelm Dürr. In 1895, she took over the direction of the School of Painting, previously run by Teodor Hummel. In 1898, she moved permanently to Paris. While still a student in Munich, she created large-scale portraits, painting models in their entirety. It was portraits that became the artist's domain. She formulated her own style of portrayal; for her, it was most important to reflect the mental state of the person whose image she was trying to portray on canvas. In 1890, Boznańska outlined her artistic programme, in which colour was the basis of the painting structure, and other means of expression were to be subordinated to it. Portret matki [The portrait of Mother] dates from 1886, when Boznańska finished her education in Kraków and left for Munich, where, as she claimed, she learned to paint. Therefore, it is an example of the early period of her work. References to classical painting are clearly visible, as well as the influence of the Munich school, which was characterised by a contrasting way of portraying. The discipline of the studio there obliged students to produce work according to academic rules. The scenery of the painting and the attire of the figures almost merge, as the mother's face, reflecting her experiences and worries, is to be shown clearly against the dark background. It is worth noting that already in this early work, an important function was played by the hands, whose specificity the artist emphasizes almost in the same way as in the facial features. Eugenia Mondan - as Boznanska's mother was called - was a Frenchwoman employed in Polish aristocratic houses as a teacher. Her teaching diploma indicated her range of skills - she specialised in drawing. She took a consistent interest in her daughter's artistic development. Her connections with France also influenced her daughter's early travels abroad (during her childhood and adolescence).

Beata Małgorzata Wolska