Wojciech Kossak, AUTOPORTRET ON A HORSE, 1891

41.0 x 31.0 cm - oil, mahogany board signed p. d.: Wojciech Kossak | 1891

On the reverse, at the g. edge, a paper sticker of the John Tanous framing company from London; in the middle, a fragment of a paper sticker, at the d. edge - a trace of a torn sticker.

On the lower border of the frame a sticker of the auction house.



Provenance:

Collection of Zbigniew Mikulski (1925-2017) in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.



The painting exhibited and reproduced:

- N. Pichłacz, M. Skowronska, A. Kielczynska, M. Kardas (eds.), Returns. The Swiss collection of Zbigniew Mikulski. Exhibition catalog, Take Care Foundation, 24 May - 31 August 2019, Bydgoszcz 2019, p. 34, il.



Wojciech Kossak was also fond of portraying himself; an early self-portrait is of a still-unconfident young man supporting himself on the hilt of a saber, but later conterfects are almost always images of a handsome, boisterous, thoroughbred schooner, often in military uniform.

Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, in Juliusz Kossak..., op. cit. p. 50.



Already in his earliest creative period, Wojciech Kossak achieved his first and immediately high honors, also gaining considerable popularity. His works from the 19th century appear very rarely on the art market, hence the offered Self-Portrait on Horseback must be considered a collector's rarity.

Wojciech Kossak (Paris 1856 - Krakow 1942 ) - widely known painter, perceived primarily as a great battle artist. The son and pupil of Juliusz Kossak, he was educated at the Cracow School of Fine Arts, the Munich Academy and in Paris. In 1895-1902 he stayed mainly in Berlin, working for Kaiser Wilhelm II. He traveled extensively, including to Spain and Egypt, where he made sketches for intended panoramas. In later years, he traveled to the United States several times doing portrait commissions. In 1913 he was appointed professor at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. During the years of World War I, he served in the military. He was co-author of panoramas: "Raclawice" (1893-1894), "Berezina" (1895-1896), "Battle of the Pyramids" (1901) and sketches for the unrealized "Somosierra" (1900). With temperament and freedom, he created extensively painted dynamic battle scenes, historical scenes, genre scenes and numerous portraits. He was fond of painting horses. His paintings, glorifying the Polish military and the heroism of the soldiers, both ancient and contemporary to the artist, appealed to the patriotic feelings of the public and enjoyed great popularity.