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Portrait of Leon Ritter von Bilinski

Kazimierz Pochwalski

Basic information

ID: Ж-3694
Author: Kazimierz Pochwalski
Name: Portrait of Leon Ritter von Bilinski
Date of creation: c.1887
Country: Poland
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 125 x 89.5

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: portraiture
Plot: Portrait
Provenance: Courtesy of Volodymyr Ovsiichuk

Information about author

Author: Kazimierz Pochwalski
Artist's lifetime: 1855–1940
Country: Poland
Biography: Kazimierz Teofil Pochwalski (1855, Krakow – 1940, Krakow) was a Polish artist and a master of representative portraiture, primarily of prominent figures in culture, science, and politics. He was the son of the artist Jozef Kasper Pochwalski (1816–1875) and the father of the artist Jozef Pochwalski (1888–1963). He studied at the Krakow, Munich, Vienna, and Paris academies. From 1885 to 1893, he lived in Krakow, where he was a teacher of the artist Olga Boznanska. He was a member of the Krakow Society of Friends of Fine Arts board. From 1894 to 1918, he was the court painter at the Austrian imperial court. Since 1919, he served as a professor at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In addition to portraits, he worked on genre and religious painting and created sketches of landscapes, flowers, and still lifes. The works by K. Pochwalski are held in museums and private collections in Poland, Austria, and Ukraine.

Object description

The figures in Pochwalski's portraits predominantly appear against dark backgrounds and are exceptionally well-modelled, making them nearly lifelike. The Gallery's collection includes a representative portrait of the Polish politician, economist, professor, and rector of Lviv University, Leon Ritter von Bilinski (1846–1923). The public figure is depicted almost full-length next to a table with papers. The formality of the portrait is emphasised by his attire – a black tailcoat with a white shirt and bow tie. Inclined towards an accurate depiction of details, the artist meticulously illustrates the awards and decorations of Leon Ritter von Bilinski: the commander's cross of the Order of Franz Joseph on a red ribbon beneath the bow tie (since 1887) and the Order of the Iron Crown of the 1st class, represented by a yellow ribbon with narrow blue stripes along the edges, draped over his right shoulder. The star of the order is attached to the left lapel of the tailcoat. The dignified grey-haired man gazes confidently and condescendingly at the viewer. The portrait was intended for the presentation of the individual in official public institutions.

Inscriptions

In the lower right is the signature: "K. Pochwalski". On the reverse side is a sticker with the inscription: "Dr. Leon Biliński. Profesor ekonomii politycznej urodzеny 15 czerwca 1846. Rektorem u roku naukowym 1878/9".

Portrayed person

The name of the person portrayed: Leon Ritter von Bilinski was a Polish politician, economist, professor, and rector of Lviv University, an honorary doctor of law at Jagiellonian University since 1900, and the Minister of Finance of Austria-Hungary and Poland.
Lifetime of the person portrayed: 1846–1923

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Portrait of Leon Ritter von Bilinski

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