Portrait of mother

Two works by Alfons Karpiński from the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin depict different stages in the artist's development. On the one hand, we have to do with Portret matki [The Portrait of the Mother], one of his early paintings, and on the other, with the artist's self-portrait-testament constituting a summary of his work. The first works were created soon after the artist graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Kraków under the supervision of Florian Cynk, Izydor Jabłoński, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and Leon Wyczółkowski. In 1903, Karpiński moved to Munich, where he continued his education in the studio of Anton Azbe. It was only at this time that the style of the female portrait began to take shape, characteristic of the painter's later works, inspired by the refined aesthetics of James McNeill Whistler. Although both works are painted in different stylistics, it is clear that from the very beginning, Karpiński manifested an ability to subtly convey life experience in the faces of his portrayed subjects. It is also impossible not to notice the substantial similarity between the face of the painter's mother and his late self-portrait. Portret matki is a realistic work of a half-figure of the woman portrayed in profile. The fatigue of an older person is visible in her face as she has sunken eyes, tightened lips and emphasised zygomatic bone. Also significant is the black colour of the dress, and the lowered hands with invisible palms are shown as an almost uniform stain, softly passing into the shadow on the wall. Portraits based on clear contrast with a very bright, realistic face against a dark background were typical of Munich painting of the period.

Beata Małgorzata Wolska