Portrait of Irena Kramsztyk, née Silbermintz

Irena Kramsztyk, née Silbermintz (1898–1980), was the wife of Andrzej Kramsztyk (1895–1969), a Warsaw attorney and the artist's cousin. Roman Kramsztyk, who became famous as a portrait painter of beautiful women, lived permanently in Paris, but he came to Warsaw every year. At that time, he stayed in the apartment of his mother, Helena Kramsztykowa, née Fajans, at 4 Boduena st. Irena and Andrzej Kramsztyk with their daughter Joanna lived at number 3 in the tenement house opposite. It was in this close relationship that the portraits of Irena and Joasia were created. The sanguine Portrait of Irena Kramsztyk, née Silbermintz shows the painter's liking for idealisation and decorativeness. To emphasise the subtle beauty of the model, the artist used a flexible, wavy line and delicate chiaroscuro.

This portrait, as well as the images of Joanna Kramsztykówna (MPOLIN-M165, MPOLIN-M167) in the POLIN Museum collection are a gift of Janusz and Krzysztof Prochaska, grandsons of Irena and Andrzej, sons of Joanna Kramsztykówna (married name Prochaska), and they are a unique complement to the fascinating collection of the Kramsztyk family in the collection of the POLIN Museum. The collection is supplemented with memorabilia related to Irena's brother, Nikodem Silbermintz [Zylbermintz] from the period of his service in the Polish Army in the East during World War II.

Renata Piątkowska