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Lviv. Mariiska Square

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-I-601
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Lviv. Mariiska Square
Date of creation: 1907
Technique: drawing
Material: paper watercolour Indian ink
Dimensions: 29.8 x 31.8 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: cityscape

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

One of the artist's earliest urban landscapes, created before his trip to Paris. The view depicts Mariiska Square from the north, from Hetmanska Street, where a red electric tram turns. Next to it, a wooden wagon drawn by a white horse forms one of the composition's most prominent focal points. On the right of the foreground, directly on the cobblestones, stands a two-wheeled cart. Behind it, near the Fountain of the Virgin Mary, a small crowd of people is depicted. The artist emphasises the contrast between the elements of the foreground and the refined architectural ensemble of the square, among which the George Hotel stands out. The Adam Mickiewicz Monument is only partially visible, serving a secondary role within the overall composition. In terms of colour, bright tones (red, orange, beige, and white) contrast with black patches of human figures, tree crowns, and sculptural elements of the column.

Inscriptions

In the lower left part of the work, there is the author’s inscription, “30/08 07 Odo Dobrowolski/ 911 Lwów”, written in italics.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery