Collection

At the Zoo (Portrait of a Man Reading on a Bench)

Jacek Malczewski

Basic information

ID: Ж-1903
Author: Jacek Malczewski
Name: At the Zoo (Portrait of a Man Reading on a Bench)
Country: Poland
Technique: oil painting
Material: cardboard oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 24 x 33.5

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: narrative art
Provenance: Collection of Lviv City Gallery

Information about author

Author: Jacek Malczewski
Artist's lifetime: 1854–1929
Biography: Jacek Malczewski (July 14, 1854, Radom, Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire – October 8, 1929, Krakow, Republic of Poland) was an outstanding artist and one of the most prominent representatives of Polish Symbolism. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow, where his teacher was Jan Matejko. The artist participated in an archeological expedition to Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Greece, which was organized by Count Karol Lanckoronski. He also visited Munich and Italy. Jacek Malczewski was one of the founders of the art union "Sztuka" ("Art"). The artist's creative heritage includes landscapes and portraiture, symbolic compositions, interpretations of religious themes, and numerous self-portraits in various images.

Object description

In this sketch one can see a knee-length image of an elderly man depicted turned three quarters to the right; he sits on a bench and reads a book, holding it with his both hands. The man is dressed in the fashion of those times, namely in a three-piece suit and hat. However, the book he is holding is not opened but closed as if the last page had already been read and turned over. The intense and almost tropical greenery serves as a background of the painting.

At the Zoo (Portrait of a Man Reading on a Bench)

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