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Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris

Odo Dobrowolski

Basic information

ID: Г-V-29
Author: Odo Dobrowolski
Name: Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris
Date of creation: 1911
Technique: drawing
Material: paper on cardboard coloured pencil Indian ink
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 26.5 x 33.2

Additionally

Type: graphic art
Genre: landscape

Information about author

Author: Odo 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 origin. He is mainly known as a graphic artist, particularly a watercolourist, a master of pastels and lithographs. His parents were Jozef Dobrowolski, the Austrian governor of Galicia-Lodomeria, and Eugenia Wittich. Apparently, the artist was named after Otto the Great, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He graduated from the gymnasium in Lviv. In the mid-1900s, Dobrowolski was in Krakow as a non-degree student of the Academy of Fine Arts. Between 1908 and 1909, thanks to the support of the artist Jan Styka, he was in Paris and then in Munich for a short while. After returning to Lviv between 1909 and 1910, the artist made an oil decorative panel for the confectionery of Gabriela Zapolska, a famous playwright, actress, and a bright representative of the Lviv elite. In 1911 and 1912, he was in Paris again. Then he was in Lviv, where during the Russian occupation he created a series of 10 lithographs, which were very popular. In June 1915, during the retreat of the Russians, the artist went to Kyiv, where he died under uncertain circumstances at the age of 34 in 1917. The artistic heritage of Odo Dobrowolski includes numerous cityscapes, particularly views of Lviv and Paris, as well as portraits, interior sketches, and images of nature. The works are stored in Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery, as well as in the National Museum in Krakow, the National Library in Warsaw, the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, and private collections.

Object description

The work was created during the artist’s second stay in Paris (1911–1912). The Parisian church is depicted in winter, reflecting the special place winter vedute (city views) hold in the artist’s oeuvre. At the centre of the composition stands the church with two towers in the Classical style. In front of it, the fountain (Fountain of the Four Bishops) is highlighted as a light patch. Along the façade are lined horse-drawn carriages, suggesting that a young couple is being married inside the church. In the background, the tall buildings of “Haussmannian” Paris are visible. The Church of Saint-Sulpice (Église Saint-Sulpice) is located in the central part of Paris, near the Luxembourg Gardens, and has been known since the 12th century. Its present appearance dates to 1870. Victor Hugo was married in this church.

Inscriptions

In the lower left corner, there is a place of the creation of the painting and the author's signature “Odo Dobrowolski / 911 Paryż” in italics. On the right – the title of the work “St. Sulpice”. On the back, there is a stamp “Państwowe zbiory sztuki” and stamps of numbers.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris

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