Witold Wojtkiewicz

Polish artist, draftsman, graphic artist and book illustrator. He was born in the family of a cashier of the bank, was one of eleven children. Witold was interested in art from childhood.

He also wrote satirical texts for «Kolets» magazine, actively participated in the activity of “Green Balloon” cabaret, in the publication of elite magazine “Liberum Veto” under the pseudonym “Count Voitek”. Was engaged in book graphics. He created a collection of travesty-retellings of the works by the most respected artists, among whom there were Olga Boznanska, Jan Stanislavsky and Leon Vichulkovsky. Being affected by the spirit of fantasy, Wojtkiewicz was able to portray the imaginary world as real. He depicted scenes with children inspired by fairy-tale plots (“Kidnapping of the princess”). Burlesque scenes in the style of Toulouse-Lautrec are, at the same time, more often not deprived of lyricism.

Not surviving by his thirtieth birthday, the artist managed to leave a legacy that preceded the development of Expressionism and Surrealism.

In 1976, a large retrospective exhibition of the artist was held at the Polish National Museum of Krakow.

Key ideas:

– In the early stages of the work, the painting with an illustrative, satirical and political background dominated.

– Later, in graphic works, there was an appearance of “metaphysics of sex”, fascinated by Polish bohemia following Stanislav Przybyshevsky.

– The thesis of the philosophy of human existence, which obeys the all-embracing power of erotica, is reflected not only in graphics, but also in painting.

– Imagination circled around the topics transmitting the real episodes of drama (“Demonstration”) and melodrama. Bearers of symbolic value are masks, dolls-puppets, jugglers, which sometimes multiply, depicting the crowd in its compact form.

– A distinguishing feature of the Polish master is in the ability to convey a certain suspended state, when the objects of the image lose the dynamics of the narrative, changing into mood symbols.

– In the series of ceremonies, the court rituals become the leitmotif: the rite is built into an idyllic landscape or occurs in closed palace interiors. The artist uses complex ornamentation, painting rich patterns of precious fabrics, elaborate and elegant hats, large crowns that adorn too small heads. The views of the characters are immersed in themselves, their thoughts or are narcissistically aimed at their reflection.

– In the field of painting technique, Wojtkiewicz acted as an experimenter. He used oil paints for the first layer, later superimposed tempera. This allowed the artist to get a matte color tone, which conveyed nostalgic moods. This technique can be traced in portraits: the artist did not manage to create many works of this genre, but depicted important personalities, for example, writer B. Rachinsky, artist Maximilian Rosen, and others.