Wlastimil Hofman (1881 - 1970), Triptych, 1921

oil, cardboard; overall size: 57 x 125 cm; 57 x 38.5 cm, 57 x 43 cm, 57 x 38 cm (light frame)
Signed and dated l. d. (in the left part of the triptych): "Wlastimil Hofman / Salvator 1921".

Provenance:
private collection, Poland

"Whatever one's attitude to Hofmann's art may be, no one can repel the certainty that in today's era, either excessively materialistic, too fond of mechanization, or again too sometimes formalistic and narrow-minded in its approach to the tasks of art, - Wlastimil brings a unique and precious ability to express soulfulness, to listen to the song of the deepest and purest currents in the human soul. He shares much in common here with his great and otherwise diverse and rich master, Jacek Malczewski. Hofmann's own note, however, is in the special gallery of faces with unforgettable expressions of dreaming, with extraordinary insights, with expressions of poignancy of the direct soul."
Marian Morelowski

The work of Wlastimil Hofman invariably arouses the interest of collectors. Is it because of the elaborate, often multifaceted genre scenes in idyllic-rural settings, the characteristic character types, the deep symbolic-mystical message of his works, or perhaps the fantasy-fairy subject matter of his paintings? The painter's compositions can be read in both religious and purely cultural contexts. He uses universal metaphors, thanks to which his works gain a timeless dimension. In addition, Tadeusz Dobrowolski pointed out the artist's reference to Renaissance paintings, for example, by using the "Sacra Conversazione" scheme. These analogies can be found in the presented work. Interestingly, as Dobrowolski further notes, the painter replaces the figures of the saints - with contemporaries, often poor people, children, old people, which provides the ground for interesting interpretations.
The featured painting consists of three parts: an image of an angel, holding a palette and brushes in his hand, and two figures of old men to the right and left of the painting. The man seen in the left part of the triptych is a figure also known from the artist's other compositions. The appearance of this type of triptych in an auction offering is an exceptional rarity. The painting certainly has the hallmarks of a museum-class work.
The painting in question was created a year after the artist returned from Paris to Poland and settled in Krakow. This period can be described as a time of relative stability in Hofman's life (he built a house and studio on Spadzista Street). At the same time as "Triptych" there were paintings "An Old Man at a Chapel", "Self-portrait against the backdrop of Wawel" or "Your Kingdom Come". The year 1921 is also associated, among other things, with the organization of an exhibition of Hofman's works (together with Jerzy Fedkowicz) at the Palace of Art in Cracow, or winning great recognition for the painting "Confession", during an exhibition in Paris (the artist was then nominated a member of the association "Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts"). Just a year earlier, while still in France, there was a significant exhibition of the artist at the Saint Honoré gallery, during which nearly a hundred of the painter's works were presented.

Bibliography:
- Dobrowolski T., "Nowoczesne malarstwo polskie", vol. 3, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków, 1964.
- Morelowski M., "Album of the collective exhibition of Wlastimil Hofmann's works on the occasion of the jubilee of 25 years of the artist's work", Jubilee Committee, Cracow, 1928.
- "Paintings by Wlastimil Hofmann from Polish and Czech collections," Karkonosze Museum, Jelenia Góra - Szklarska Poreba, 2003.
- "In Szklarska Poreba all roads lead to Wlastimilowka," edited by B. Danielska, AD REM Regina Christian Publishing House, Szklarska Poreba 2017.