Dimensions: 14.5 x 17.6 cm (plate impression)
signed in pencil lower right: 'Jan Rubczak'
Biography
He began his artistic education in 1904–11 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, initially under the guidance of Florian Cynk, and later in Józef Pankiewicz’s printmaking studio. He honed his technical skills in Paris from 1908 to 1909. He continued his studies at the Akademie für Graphische Künste und Buchgewerbe in Leipzig and at the Académie Colarossi in Paris, where he settled in 1911 and remained for many years. He was among the founders of the Society of Polish Artists in Paris, established in 1911. In 1915, he became a member of the Polish Literary and Artistic Society. His art was promoted by the well-known Parisian art dealer Leopold Zborowski. In 1917, he opened his own school of printmaking in Paris; he encouraged Władysław Skoczylas and Franciszek Prochaska to master printmaking techniques. He drew inspiration for his works from his stays in Rouen and Chartres, as well as in small towns in Normandy, Brittany, and southern France, and from his travels to Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. Upon his return to Kraków in 1924, he began teaching at Ludwika Mehoffer’s Free School of Painting and Drawing. In 1931–32, he served as an assistant in the graphic arts department at the Academy of Fine Arts, which was headed by Jan Wojnarski. He was a member of the “Sztuka” Society of Polish Artists, with which he exhibited in Budapest (1910), Kraków (1911), and Warsaw (1912 and 1923); he also participated in exhibitions organized by the Formists group in Kraków (1917), Lviv (1918), and Paris (1922). In 1925, he became a co-founder of the “Jednoróg” Guild of Visual Artists. At the General National Exhibition in Poznań in 1929, he was awarded the Grand Silver Medal. He exhibited extensively in Paris, participating in the Salon d’Automne (1911–13) and the Salon des Indépendants (1912), and displayed his work at the Galerie Barbazagnes (1920) and the Galerie du Musée Crillon (1921, 1922, 1924). He also took part in an exhibition of Polish artists living in Paris, organized in 1912 in Barcelona at the Galeries José Dalmau. He also exhibited his art in Vienna, Helsinki, Prague, Brussels, and Buffalo. Rubczak’s paintings were inextricably linked to French Post-Impressionism, which was promoted in Poland by Józef Pankiewicz.
