Jan WAŁACH (1884-1979), "Digging potatoes in the halny".

woodcut, 20.3 x 16.5 cm,
Signed in pencil p.d.: Jan Walach.

Painter, sculptor, graphic artist. In 1904-1908 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under Mehoffer, Fałat, Ruszczyc, from where he went on a two-year scholarship to Paris. Upon his return, he settled in his native Istebna, and connected his further life and work with this locality. Without leaving his native village, he documented the world of peasant labor, mundane everyday events. The artist's woodcuts are developed with great care both in terms of drawing and composition.