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Portrait of Seweryn Obst

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-II-203
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Portrait of Seweryn Obst
Date of creation: 1907
Technique: drawing
Material: paper on wood panel pastel
Dimensions: 38 x 40.5 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: portraiture
Provenance: Museum of Jan III Sobieski in Lviv Courtesy of Helena Dabczanska

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

Odo Dobrowolski executed this portrait of Seweryn Obst on 27 December 1907 on the occasion of the renowned painter's 60th birthday. It is a shoulder-length profile portrait of the artist with pensive eyes, a thin straight nose, wavy combed-back hair, and a small beard already touched with grey. The jubilarian is depicted in formal attire – a jacket, a tie, and a white-collared shirt. To the left, the sitter's hand is visible holding a brush in his long, slender fingers, completing this perceptive and deeply psychological portrayal.
Seweryn Obst (1847–1917) was a Galician painter and ethnographer of Polish descent. He was born in the village of Nyzhnii Bereziv in the Kosiv region, received his primary education in the Hutsul region, and later graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He painted Hutsuls and collected Hutsul folk artefacts. From 1883 onwards, he lived in Lviv. He died in a retirement home at the age of 69.

Inscriptions

In the upper left part of the work, there is the author’s signature, dedication, and the date "Odo Dobrowolski / Sewera / w 60 rocznicę urodzenia./ 27/12 07" written in italics. On the back side there are several handwritten numbers and 2 labels. On the largest label the text "Muzeum Narodowe im. Króla Jana III we Lwowie / z daru Helena Dąbczańskiej. No inw. 202" is printed in ink. In the middle there is the inscription "Dobrowolski Odo: / Portrait of an Obsta, / art.-nal./ Pastel / 38 x 40.5" written in ink.

Portrayed person