Roman Kochanowski, IN THE FOREST

35,2 x 17,6cm - oil, canvas

Signed l.d.: R. Kochanowski

On the back of the frame a sticker of the Parisian frame factory A. Goude.



Roman Kochanowski, educated at the School of Fine Arts in Cracow and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, chose Munich as his final destination for life and work.

Although he went there as a fully formed artist, the Bavarian capital also left its mark on his painting. He limited his color palette to neutral, earthy colors. Occasionally, his works include breaks of browns, greens and grays with strong accents of red, white or blue spots.



His landscapes show, following the example of the Barbizonians, narrow frames of nature, as exemplified by the drawing of tree trunks reflected in a sheet of water, offered under cat. no. 8. The featured oil takes the viewer inside a birch forest. The artist has created an almost poetic mood by using a muted color scheme with delicate accents of color patches (figures of bent women). The placement of these two silhouettes gives the composition an intimate feel. These women, busy picking mushrooms, are depicted by the artist as a small part of the world around them.

Roman Kochanowski (Krakow 1857 - Freising near Munich 1945) - painter and graphic artist - was one of the Polish artists settled and permanently active in Munich. He began his studies in painting in Cracow; initially in the private studio of Maksymilian Cerch, and in 1873- 1875 at the School of Fine Arts under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and landscape painter Henryk Grabiński. For the next two years he still studied at the landscape department of the Vienna Academy. In 1881 he moved to Munich, where he had his own studio and soon started a family. However, he often came to Cracow, visited Poznan, traveled through Galicia and Podolia, drawing landscapes and views of cities, which were later included in an album published in Vienna in 1898. The artist belonged to the Munich Kunstverein, participated in many exhibitions in Germany, Vienna, London; he also sent his works to national shows. He painted mainly landscapes and only rarely flowers and portraits. A constant and favorite motif of his paintings was the Polish landscape near Krakow, with people's figures woven into it. The artist's paintings, often painted on small boards and devoid of an anecdotal layer, are characterized by unusual painterly qualities, color harmony and lyrical mood. Noted and awarded at numerous exhibitions, they were also highly valued in the art market. In 1892, after an exhibition in Vienna, one of Kochanowski's paintings was purchased for his collection by Emperor Franz Joseph; two others were acquired by members of the imperial family. Karol Joseph Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, was an admirer of his paintings. The artist's great sensitivity to landscape and nature is also evident in his drawings and etchings.
Kochanowski's work was recently recalled by a monographic exhibition of his works organized at the Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom in 2007. The exhibition - also shown in Katowice, Sandomierz, Szczecin, Gdansk, Piotrków Trybunalski - was accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog, which is a compendium of knowledge about the artist (see: Roman Kochanowski [1857-1945]. On the 150th anniversary of his birth, [edited and compiled by Z. K. Posiadała], Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom, Radom 2007).