Collection of Ethnographic Drawings

Kajetan Wincenty Kielisiński created numerous etchings and drawings devoted to folklore, life in Polish villages and towns, historical monuments, and landscapes. He was one of the first to develop bookplates in Poland. During his travels to various locations, he collected graphic materials for the publications "Polish Antiquities" and "Folk Costumes". In 1855, Poznań publisher Jan Konstanty Żupanski published "Kielisiński's Album", which collected the artist's scattered works. Kielisiński's graphic works, drawings, sketchbooks, and correspondence were kept in the Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, as well as in national museums (Kraków, Poznań, Warsaw) and renowned libraries (Jagiellonian University, Ossolineum, Warsaw University). The picture shows a young man or teenager dressed in traditional folk clothing. He is wearing a long cloak or kaftan, wide sharovary (sirwal), an embroidered or ornamented shirt, and a very tall smushok (newborn lamb fur cap) on his head. The young man is wearing postoly (traditional Ukrainian shoes) or light boots. His left arm is stretched out to the side, holding onto a woven wattle, which is clearly next to a rural house. The figure is standing at full height, facing the viewer, with his right arm bent and holding onto the edge of his kaftan. The figure is shown against the background of an open door to a peasant's house, approached by a dirt road, fenced by a wattle, with bushes visible behind. The young man is depicted in a calm, static pose, his expression calm and restrained, perhaps a little sad. His head is slightly bowed, his gaze directed towards the road, which apparently leads away from the house. The lines are thin, soft, careful, but precise, with noticeable attention to detail in the clothing, posture, headdress, and background. Its artistic significance lies in the accurate and detailed reproduction of folk attire, making it a valuable source for research and study of traditional culture. From an aesthetic point of view, we are dealing with a realistic drawing, with a special emphasis on its documentary nature.

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery