Girl in green

Tytus Czyżewski was a painter-poet who studied at Krakow's Academy of Fine Arts between 1902 and 1907 under Józef Unierzyski, Józef Mehoffer and Leon Wyczółkowski. Between 1907 and 1909, he studied in Paris, where he also stayed between 1910 and 1912. It was then that he became acquainted with Cubism. It contributed to him ceasing to create following the then prevailing Young Poland trend in art and joining the new movements in Polish art. In 1917 he joined the Polish Expressionists (from 1919 the Formists), a group that initiated the avant-garde in Poland. When the Formists finished their activities in 1922, Czyżewski went to Paris again, where he lived until 1930. Upon returning to Poland, he joined the Kapists. The painting from this period, Dziewczyna w zieleni [The Girl in Greenery], purchased for the National Museum in 1973 from DESA Warsaw, is characterised by flat, autonomously treated colour patches that are outlined with a precise contour. Looking straight ahead, a young girl sitting on a chair at the table is holding her hands in a basket placed on it. One gets the impression that she is performing some action with her hands, but, which draws attention, her gaze is not directed towards this work. A face with a sad expression gives the impression of thoughts distant from the present task. The official outfit, a green dress with a red bow under the neck, emphasises the form of restraint on the figure. The representation can be interpreted that the girl is so immersed in her thoughts that the performed activity loses meaning. The dishes are placed on the table without any realistic order. Portret Magdaleny Potworowskiej [The Portrait of Magdalena Potworowska], from the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, was painted in a similar style in 1935. These synthetically presented figures are shown against a background of blurred, mixed-up, dynamic patches of colour.

Beata Małgorzata Wolska