Signed p.d. Waclaw Pawliszak | 1891
on the g. strip of the loom a paper sticker: L. KWAŚNIK | POZNAŃ | AL. MARCINKOWSKIEGO 19 | TEL. 31-27 | PICTURE FRAMING AND SALES | YEAR OF FOUNDATION. 1932
Matejko considered Pawliszak one of his most talented students. Eastern themes interested the artist already during his studies in Cracow. It was also present during his studies in Munich (in the studio of Jozef Brandt) and Paris (under Emile Auguste Carolus Duran). From Warsaw, where he settled after his return, he traveled to the East; he visited Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, Albania, Dalmatia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, as well as Crimea and the Caucasus. Since then, oriental themes have become a permanent feature of his work, while the artist is today counted among the most prominent Polish orientalists.
Waclaw Pawliszak (Warsaw 1866 - Warsaw 1905) - painter, draughtsman, illustrator; already as a child he showed an extraordinary talent for drawing; he also began his studies early - first with Wojciech Gerson at the Warsaw Drawing Class, and at the age of fourteen at the School of Fine Arts in Krakow. He studied under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and Florian Cynk, and was a favorite student of Jan Matejko. He then went on to study in Munich with Jozef Brandt (1885) and in Paris with A. E. Carolus-Duran (1886). He lived permanently in Warsaw, but traveled extensively; he was in Rome, and above all traveled to the East, where he "fell in love with fanaticism." He traveled to Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, Albania, Dalmatia, Egypt, Iran and Iraq, went to Crimea and Constantinople, everywhere finding subjects for his paintings and with the passion of a collector buying Eastern textiles and weapons. He painted portraits, landscapes and the then popular "rococo scenes," but above all historical and battle paintings from the history of the 17th century Polish wars. He exhibited a lot, both at home and abroad; including in 1889 in Paris (bronze medal for his painting Emir Rzewuski at the Universal Exhibition), in 1894 in Chicago and San Francisco, in 1898 in St. Petersburg, in 1900 in Paris (letter of praise for Shooting Eagles at the World Exhibition). He worked on The Post of Polish Kings, illustrated magazines and books, including Pan Tadeusz, Beniowski and the Vienna edition of The Tale of a Thousand and One Nights. He died tragically, fatally shot by Xawery Dunikowski. There are few paintings by the artist in Polish museum collections; a larger number are in private collections.
