Table of the Lublin Society of Cyclists

The author of the composition of the tableau was Władysław Barwicki, related to Lublin. The artist lived modestly, making a living from commissions and work at the School of Painting and Drawing of Krystyna Henryk Wiercieński. Each order was precious for him, as it allowed him to increase his irregular and modest income. Among his various works a few tableaus have survived. It is a juxtaposition of photographs framed in a decorative way, made with lavatazz and drawing, connected with the theme of the composition. The Museum of History of the City of Lublin possesses a tableau of the Lublin Cyclists' Association, a tableau of graduates of the Merchants' Assembly School of the City of Lublin, a tableau of graduates of the Stanisław Staszic Grammar School and a group photograph of Members of the Lublin Guberniya. Barwicki is the author of the composition of the photographs and the decoration of the background. Monochromatic, lavish landscapes and plant elements are made with gouache and drawing.

The most interesting seems to be the tableau of cyclists. Small portrait photographs, composed and glued to paper in the shape of a bicycle contour, fill two wheels with spokes, a saddle and handlebars. In the centre, there is Lublin's coat of arms, in the upper part there is a view of the racing track. Attention is drawn to the delicately painted landscape, especially trees and foliage. The whole composition was reproduced at the photographic studio of A. Stepanow in Lublin.

In this type of works, we can see an echo of Barwicki's education in the Warsaw Drawing Class at Wojciech Gerson's workshop, from where he took the precision of drawing, attention to detail, realism and decorativeness. The underpainted backgrounds of the photographs show Barwicki's artistry, ingenuity of composition and subtlety of landscape.