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Studies of Seven Heads

Feliks Cichocki

  • Studies of Seven Heads 2
  • Studies of Seven Heads 3
Basic information
ID
Ж-4727
Author
Feliks Cichocki
Name
Studies of Seven Heads
Date of creation
1886
Country
Germany
Technique
oil painting
Material
canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm)
54 x 71
Additionally
Type
painting
Genre
portraiture
Plot
Portrait
Provenance
Gifted by a private individual
Information about author
Author
Feliks Cichocki
Artist's lifetime
1861–1921
Country
Poland
Biography
Feliks Nalecz Cichocki of the Nalecz coat of arms (1861, Warsaw – 1921, Warsaw) was a Polish painter and a representative of the Munich School. He studied at the art academies in Munich, Warsaw, Krakow, and Paris. In 1891, the artist settled in Warsaw, where he taught in secondary schools from 1898. He typically painted small-format works, including genre and everyday scenes, portraits, and paintings on biblical themes, and he also engaged in polychromy. His religious paintings in the style of academic classicism, particularly the wall frescoes in churches around Pultusk, resemble the works of Bouguereau. Cichocki's works are represented in the collections of the National Museums of Poland and Ukraine.
Object description
The painting is a student work by Cichocki, created during his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. It is a study of seven male and female heads in various angles, depicted against the backdrop of the city of Munich and arranged in two rows. At the top of the composition, one can see the sculpture crowning the Triumphal Arch in Munich: the statue of Bavaria, seated on a quadriga drawn by four lions. In the upper row, from left to right, there is a Catholic clergyman in black attire, a profile of a young dark-haired woman in a white scarf, and a double portrait of an older man in a tall black hat. In the lower row, from left to right, are depicted the artist's self-portrait on a palette, an easel, a box of paints and brushes; an older man with a moustache and a white neck scarf; and a smiling woman in national attire. The depicted figures are sketch studies of people from various social classes. This theme was one of the areas of interest for the young artist.
Inscriptions
In the bottom left, there is the artist's signature and the date: "Feliks Cichocki 1886 Monachium".
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

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