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Church of Saint-Severin in Paris

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-II-224
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Church of Saint-Severin in Paris
Date of creation: 1908–1912
Technique: drawing
Material: paper pastel
Dimensions: 70 x 46 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: landscape

Information about author

Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Author in the original: Odo (Otton) Dobrowolski
Artist's lifetime: 1883–1917
Country: Austro-Hungarian Empire
Biography: Odo (Otton) Dobrowolski (1883, Chernivtsi – 1917, Kyiv) was a Lviv artist of Polish-German descent, known primarily as a graphic artist and master of lithography, as well as for his refined works in watercolour and pastel.
He was born into the family of Józef Dobrowolski, an official at the Austrian Governorship of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and Eugenia Wittich. The artist was likely named after Otto the Great, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. After graduating from a gymnasium in Lviv, in the mid-1900s he studied in Krakow as a non-matriculated student at the Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1908–1909, with the support of the painter Jan Styka, Dobrowolski lived in Paris before spending a brief period in Munich. Upon returning to Lviv, in 1909–1910, he painted a decorative oil panel for the confectionery of Gabriela Zapolska – a renowned playwright, actress, and one of the most prominent figures of the city's high society of the time. In 1911–1912, Odo worked in Paris once again. Following his return to Lviv, during the russian occupation of the city in the First World War, he created a series of ten lithographs that gained wide acclaim.
In June 1915, he left for Kyiv alongside the retreating russian troops, where the 34-year-old artist died in 1917 under unexplained circumstances.
The artist's oeuvre encompasses numerous cityscapes featuring views of Lviv and Paris, as well as portraits, interior sketches, and life studies. His works are held in Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery, the National Museum in Krakow, the National Library and the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, as well as in private collections.

Object description

The work was created during the artist’s first (1908–1909) or second (1911–1912) stay in Paris. The young painter depicted the oldest spiritual centre for students in Europe – the Church of Saint-Severin in the Latin Quarter. In the foreground of the composition is the north façade of the church (from Rue Saint-Séverin) with its two sacristies. In the middle ground, at the centre, rises the church’s magnificent bell tower with a pointed spire. The work is rendered in muted ochre and brown tones, making the white light of a lamp on the façade of the building opposite the church one of its distinctive accents. The Church of Saint-Severin (Église Saint-Séverin) is one of the best-known churches in Paris; its construction began in the 13th century. The church is located in the historic centre of the city, opposite the Island of the City (Île de la Cité).

Inscriptions

In the lower left corner, there is the author's signature and date of performance, “Paryż/ Odo Dobrowolski”, written in italics.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery