Alfons Karpiński, PORTRAIT OF A MAN, December 1921

56.7 x 48.7 cm - oil on cardboard

signed on the right: A. Karpiński | 1921 XII

♣ Droit de suite: ♣ A fee will be added to the Purchase Price pursuant to the right of the artist and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994, on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite).

Alfons Karpiński (Rozwadów, now a district of Stalowa Wola, 1875 – Kraków, 1961) studied at the Kraków School of Fine Arts from 1891 to 1899 under the guidance of Florian Cynk, Izydor Jabłoński, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, and Leon Wyczółkowski; he then continued his studies with Anton Ažbé in Munich (1903), with Kazimierz Pochwalski in Vienna, and, beginning in 1907, also in Paris. He traveled to Italy and London. He lived permanently in Kraków; associated with the local artistic circle centered around “Zielony Balonik,” he designed sets for cabaret performances. He belonged to the “Sztuka” Society of Polish Artists and the “Zero” group; he was a member of the Viennese “Secesja” association and the Kraków TPSP. He participated in numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad. During World War I, he served in the Austrian army. The artist’s prolific body of work includes early genre scenes from the countryside near Kraków, landscapes, and portraits—particularly portraits of women, which brought him special popularity. Over time, still lifes featuring flowers—alongside portraits—became the main subject of his paintings, as well as decorative compositions in a subdued color palette. The artist also worked in printmaking and illustration.