Lublin Castle

The Lublin portfolio is one of the mature graphic works of Leon Wyczółkowski (1852-1936), who devoted over thirty years of his artistic activity to graphic art, abandoning oil painting on its behalf. He became interested in the graphic medium around 1900. Already as a mature artist, he began to analyse the technical possibilities of etching, aquatint, algraphy, fluorophores and, above all, lithography. Thanks to the similar effects of a lithographic print and drawing and painting, and the possibility of experimentation, which best suited Wyczółkowski's preferences and temperament, lithography became his favourite technique. He published cycles of graphic works in low-circulation folders devoted to the landscape and architecture of Polish cities. In panoramic views, shots of historic buildings and meticulously reconstructed architectural details he combined documentary skill with an extraordinary passion for individual feeling of architecture. The Lublin portfolio is one of the most beautiful graphic portraits of the city, which the artist supplemented with three boards unrelated to urban architecture. These include two versions of Sosenki and Stara lipa in Piotrawin. Wyczółkowski prepared the sketches during his stay in Lublin in 1918. Composed of seventeen auto-lithographic sheets, the portfolio was published a year later in Krakow in twenty copies. After printing the edition planned by the artist, the lithographic stones were destroyed, which in Wyczółkowski's case was a frequent practice and gave his prints a unique character.

The sheet showing the view of the castle is one of three broadly framed views from the portfolio depicting the buildings on Castle Hill. The artist portrayed it from the south-eastern side with sketchily outlined buildings of the Jewish district. The view is characterized by free crayon drawing, devoid of unnecessary details, combining the graphic line of architectural detail with soft chiaroscuro modelling. In spite of the fact that it seems to be a hastily made sketch, the well-thought-out composition made it possible to capture the character of the quadrilateral foundation with the Holy Trinity Chapel framed from the apse and the keep situated on the axis, towering over the hill.

Anna Hałata