Portrait of his wife (Wanda Wolffowa)

In 1904, after several months of studies at the Drawing Class in Warsaw began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków under the guidance of Florian Cynk, Leon Wyczółkowski and Józef Mehoffer. Probably from 1906, he attended a course in graphics run by Józef Pankiewicz. It was also at this time that he started to suffer from asthma or tuberculosis. He became friends with Tadeusz Makowski and Wojciech Jastrzębowski. In June 1913, he went to Paris on a scholarship and, although he received it for three years, he had to return to Kraków in the autumn because his health had deteriorated considerably. In 1917, he became a member of the Polish Expressionists (Formists) and participated in its three exhibitions. The Second Exhibition of Polish Expressionists in Kraków took place in 1918. During that time, Mierzejewski created drawings and vignettes, which he published in the magazine Maski. In addition, he was the manager of the Industrial Aid Society in Kraków and co-owner of a toy factory. He designed toys and Christmas tree decorations made by his wife (Stanisława Brzezińska) and sister-in-law (Wanda Wolffowa-Łaszczkowa). He portrayed the latter around 1918. Portret Wandy Wolffowej [The portrait of Wanda Wolffowa] has been in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin since 1950, donated by the Ministry of Culture and Sport from the State Art Collections. Painted at a time when Mierzejewski was a member of the Formists, the work manifests the Neoclassical tendencies that persisted in his work. It is one of many portraits of that period when he most often painted his wife and sister-in-law. It belongs to a group of works painted from around 1915, with delicate nuances of colour and tone, which emerge from a cold, green-grey or white-blue background. The attention is drawn to the solid body of the portrait subject, framed by thick lines. The artist has managed to achieve a subtle facial expression with half-closed eyelids. The hairstyle and dress with a caro neckline are also noteworthy, as typical of the interwar period.

Beata Małgorzata Wolska