Teodor Axentowicz (1859 Brasov – 1938 Kraków), Portrait of a Woman, 1920s–1930s

Provenance
private collection, Poland

Biography
Teodor Axentowicz studied at the Munich Academy under Gabriel von Hackl and with professors Sandor Wagner and Guyla Benczur from 1879 to 1882. In 1883, he left for Paris, where he studied in the studio of Emil August Carolus-Duran. He undertook numerous artistic journeys, including to Italy and London. In 1895, he became a professor of drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and in 1910 he became its first elected rector. He was a co-founder of the Polish Artists’ Society “Sztuka” and a member of the Vienna “Secession.” He was one of Poland’s most outstanding portraitists; he also painted genre and historical scenes. The artist’s favorite subjects were scenes with Hutsul motifs—figure studies, customs, and beliefs—painted with attention to detail yet in a very free style, as well as symbolic depictions.