Portrait of a young gypsy woman

Portrait of a young Roma woman The painting stems from the collection of the Potoccy family, the former owners of the castle of Łańcut; it depicts a young Roma woman, shown as a half figure, her head bent backwards, laughing, in typical Roma attire. In the lower right hand corner there is the signature „K. MASTELSKI”. The figure of the woman is colourful, the background – neutral. The painting has a broad wooden frame, painted gold, decorated with fluting and a narrow band of decorative astragal. Kazimierz Mastelski (b. in 1869, d. in 1954 in Szczecin) is a Polish painter, who learned his trade under Wojciech Gerson at the Class of Drawing in Warsaw. He initially lived in Munich, later in Warsaw, he specialied in pastel, but also worked with oil, which is the technique used for the painting from Łańcut. He painted landscapes, flowers, genre and religious scenes, however, mainly portraits. He was in Łańcut in 1927, refurbishing portraits of the Potoccy family. The portrait of the young Roma woman was probably created at this time; it is displayed in the 2nd floor of the Castle of Łańcut.