Dimensions: 63 x 47 cm
Signature: signed and inscribed l.d.: Witkacy / 1938 / 19/X / TC + C2
Provenance
Poznan, private collection
The featured image of a man from 1938 belongs to a group of special examples of works offered by Witkacy's Portrait Company. It was made in type C, impossible to obtain on commission, realized most often during friendly gatherings of people from the artist's closest circle. In addition to alcohol consumption, Witkacy often experimented with drugs at the time, trying cocaine (Co), peyote (P), eucodal (Eu) or ether (Et). In his regulations he stated: "Type C - similar to Pure Form, that is, from the point of view of critics and laymen, a caricature and deformation. Made with C2H5OH. - Currently excluded. Will be a great rarity someday" (Regulations of the Portrait Company "S. I. Witkiewicz", Zakopane - Warsaw, 11.04.1925). Immortalized succinctly, with a large dose of nonchalance, the man emerges from the orange background like a peculiar dream or a faded memory. The viewer's attention is focused primarily on his shining, dark blue eyes, as well as a sheaf of light, let loose along his cheek, diagonally cutting through the composition. Was this the last of the visions the artist experienced during an intoxicating, fun-filled evening?
