Little Rabbi

Stanisław Dębicki was a painter and book illustrator. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Christian Griepenkerl (1881-1884), then under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, later again in Vienna, and in 1884 in Munich under Sándor (Alexander von) Wagner at the Academy and privately under Paul Nauen. After returning to Poland, he worked for several years as a teacher at the School of Ceramic Industry in Kołomyja (1886-1890). During that period, he travelled extensively in the countryside, to towns and villages such as Delatyn, Mikuliczyn, Żabi, Tyszkowce, which resulted in numerous sketches and notes. In 1890-1891, he lived in Paris and still attended the Académie Colarossi. Then he settled in Lviv, and in 1909 moved to Krakow, where after Stanisław Wyspiański's death, he took over the chair of decorative painting at the Academy of Fine Arts.The painting Mały Rabin [Little Rabbi] was created in 1885 and donated to the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin in 1948. It was an example of works from the early period when Dębicki lived in Kołomyja (today's Ukraine, then eastern Galicia) before working as an educator in the local school. The surroundings of that town and its bourgeoisie became heroes of the artist's works many times. It should be remembered that it was an ethnically diverse environment. Apart from Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Armenians, and Jews lived there.Mały Rabin is an oil portrait sketch depicting a boy's bust in a yarmulke facing the viewer en trois quarts. His eyes are closed, and his mouth is set as if he were whispering something, humming, perhaps a prayer. The painting shows free, delicate brushstrokes. A muted colour palette of browns, ochres and greys has been used. The face is bright, which is achieved by using white to contrast with the black yarmulke. The artist concentrates on emphasising the facial expression and the psyche of the portrayed, which results from a thorough analysis of the figure.This is not the only painting depicting a Jewish boy in Dębicki's work. There is also Mały Rabin from the collection of the National Museum in Wrocław.

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