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Sketch for the Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Jadwiga

Jozef Mehoffer

Basic information

ID: Г-V-113
Author: Jozef Mehoffer
Name: Sketch for the Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Jadwiga
Technique: drawing
Material: paper on cardboard charcoal
Dimensions: 75.5 x 58.5 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: portraiture
Plot: Portrait
Provenance: National Gallery of Lviv (until 1940)

Information about author

Author: Jozef Mehoffer
Author in the original: Józef Mehoffer
Artist's lifetime: 1869–1946
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland
Biography: Jozef Mehoffer possessed a versatile artistic talent. A master of easel and monumental painting, a stage designer, graphic artist, poster designer, and stained-glass and textile designer, he was one of the leaders of Polish Art Nouveau. This movement became known as "Young Poland" ("Młoda Polska"). Mehoffer was educated at the Faculty of Law of the Jagiellonian University, and in 1887–1894 studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków under the supervision of Izydor Jabłoński, Józef Unierzyski, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, and Jan Matejko.
In 1889–1890, he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1891–1896 also refined his skills in Paris: initially at the Académie Julian and the National School of Decorative Arts (École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs), then at the Académie Colarossi under Joseph Blanc and Gustave Courtois, and from 1892 at the National School of Fine Arts (École Nationale des Beaux-Arts) in the studio of Léon Bonnat. From 1905, he was a professor at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and later served as its rector.
Jozef Mehoffer was married to Jadwiga Janakowska and had a son, Zbigniew. The artist lived primarily in Kraków but also travelled extensively, notably to Italy and Switzerland. He achieved international recognition for his stained-glass windows, produced in 1895–1936 for the Gothic Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas in Fribourg (Switzerland). The artist died of tuberculosis on 8 July 1946 in Wadowice and was buried at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków. A museum dedicated to the artist was established in Jozef Mehoffer's house in Kraków, at 26 Krupnicza Street.

Object description

A sketch for the portrait of the artist's wife, Jadwiga, executed in 1909. A middle-aged woman sits in an armchair, turned in three-quarters profile to the right. She is depicted in a lavish gown and a striking hat with feathers. This sketch became the basis for the creation of the oil painting "Portrait of the Artist's Wife in a Laurel Room", which served as a manifesto of Mehoffer's mature Art Nouveau style. The portrait of his beloved wife transformed into a symbolic allegory of beauty and harmony. In contrast, the charcoal sketch remained unknown to the general public.
Jozef Mehoffer's wife, Jadwiga Mehoffer (née Radzim-Janakowska), was an artist and art collector. She became a muse and model for a series of graphic and painted portraits by the artist, produced during the first third of the twentieth century.
The completed oil portrait was purchased in Lviv in 1929 by the Silesian Museum (Muzeum Śląskie) in Katowice, where it remains to this day. Two sketches for this portrait were acquired by the National Gallery of Lviv (currently – Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery) in the same year, 1929.

Inscriptions

In the bottom right, the artist's signature – "Józef Mehoffer".

Portrayed person