Tymon Niesiołowski (1882 Lviv-1965 Torun), Portrait of Eliza Mogilnicka, 1905.

crayon, paper, 44.5 × 61 cm in light frame

Reproduced and described:
- "Tymon Niesiołowski. Catalog of the exhibition", opr. Anna Tyczynska, Warsaw 1982, p.86, (ill.) 2
- Krzysztof Harbaszewski, "Tymon Niesiolowski's early work (up to 1926)", [in:] "Roczniki Humanistyczne", T. XXXIII, 1985, z.4., p.95, ill.16
- A. Rissmann, "Tymon Niesiołowski (1882-1965)", [exhibition catalog], District Museum in Toruń 2005, p.87, cat. no. 35 (description.)

The work offered at auction shows a strongly marked fascination and influence of the work of Niesiołowski's master and professor, Stanisław Wyspiański. The artist, like his teacher, focused primarily on the face of his model, on rendering her mental state. The drawing of the composition is characterized by a strongly marked outline and synthetically outlined with a dark color spot the woman's outfit. As Niesiolowski himself recalled: "Wyspianski, however, when painting someone's portrait, does not change the nose or mouth of the model, he rather tries to make a study of the head in question. Often with great expressive power and emphasizing the psychological qualities of the portrayed." (quoted by A. Rissmann, "Tymon Niesiołowski (1882-1965)", [exhibition catalog], District Museum in Toruń 2005, p. 58.). Another important value of the composition is the Art Nouveau stylized floral motifs, marked in the background of the drawing, meandering behind the head of the portrayed - "A painting is good when it is decorative, only a decorative painting can be good," Wyspianski said to me. (Tymon Niesiołowski, "Memories," Czytelnik 1963, p. 39.).