2024-04-16
The artwork of Leon Wyczółkowski: "Country girl in a yellow shawl" was on the list of war losses from the Leon Piniński Wawel Foundation. Lost between 1939 and 1945, it appeared at auction in December 2020.
Leon Wyczółkowski was an outstanding painter, draughtsman and graphic artist of the Young Poland period. His teachers included Wojciech Gerson and Jan Matejko. Apart from insightful portraits, he usually painted moody landscapes of the Tatra Mountains and Ukraine, as well as still lives, especially flowers. He used mainly pastels, watercolour and ink, he was very interested in the problem of light and colour. This recovered work, a pastel on paper (69 x 99 cm) was created in 1900 and perfectly fits into the artist's oeuvre. Apart from the painter's typical technique, the work is another example of the Young Poland fascination with village life. The work is signed in the upper left corner of the painting.
Soon after being painted, the work was purchased by Leon Piniński, the rector of the University of Lviv, a politician, art expert and collector. The portrait probably came to Wawel in 1920, when the collector decided to donate it to the Royal Castle. The work has been on the Wawel War Loss List since 1945.
In December 2020 "Highlander / Country Girl in a Shawl" appeared at an auction in the country. Fortunately, the work was quickly identified by the staff of the Department of Cultural Heritage Abroad and War Losses of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Both the auction house and the previous owner behaved in an exemplary manner. The auction house withdrew the pastel from the auction, while the temporary owner returned the work to the State Treasury.