Wanda Korzeniowska (1873-1939)
Profile of a woman, 1st quarter of the 20th century.
Pastel on cardboard
Dimensions: 55 x 43 cm (oval)
Provenance:
- private collection
Exhibited:
- "What Baba to Brush! Polish women artists 1850-1950", National Museum in Lublin, Lublin Castle, 25.04-5.10.2025
Reproductions:
- exhibition catalog: "What Baba to Brush! Polish Women Artists 1850-1950 / 'A Woman and a Paintbrush? Nonsense! Polish Women Artists 1850-1950'", edited by Bożena Kasperowicz, National Museum in Lublin, Lublin 2025, p. 189
Wanda Korzeniowska was a painter and draughtswoman active at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, associated with the Galician artistic circle and the Cracow milieu. She was educated at a time when women's access to academic art education was still limited, so - like many female artists of her generation - she received her education in private studios and art schools.
Her work consisted primarily of portraiture and head studies, executed in drawing and pastel techniques. The artist focused on subtle facial modeling and psychological depiction of the figure. Characteristic of her works are soft line leading, delicate tonal transitions and focus on the individual expression of the model.
The pastel "Profile of a Woman" is a representative example of this sensibility - the composition was based on a classic profile shot, emphasizing the line of the nose, mouth and chin, as well as the calm, introspective character of the figure depicted. The background was treated sketchily, so that all the attention is focused on the model's face and subtle chiaroscuro modeling.
Korzeniowska's work is part of a broad current of Polish women artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose work has been undergoing a reevaluation in research and museums in recent years. The presence of the work in the exhibition "What Baba to Brush! Polish Women Artists 1850-1950" at the National Museum in Lublin confirms the growing interest in the work of this generation of women artists.
