Henryk Piątkowski (1853, Kyiv – 1932, Warsaw), "Duet," 1882

Provenance
Purchased at DESA, Warsaw, 1980s
private collection, Poland

Bibliography
“Kłosy” 1890, vol. 50, no. 1288, p. 145 (illustration on the cover)

Biography
Henryk Piątkowski began studying drawing in St. Petersburg. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Warsaw and continued his studies in the drawing class under the guidance of Rafał Hadziewicz, where he met Józef Chełmoński and Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski. In 1872, he left for Munich, where he studied in Alexander Wagner’s studio and later at Carl Theodor von Piloty’s private school of composition. While in the German Empire, he maintained close ties with artists from Konstanty Brandl’s circle. In 1875, together with Józef Chełmoński, he traveled to Paris, where his work took on a distinctive character. From the French capital, he traveled to London for a stay of several months; from there, he briefly returned to Munich before heading to Odessa. He returned to Warsaw in 1879 and was a co-founder of the Pro Arte artistic group.
Henryk Piątkowski’s extensive body of work includes portraits, landscapes, and paintings with religious and historical themes, as well as genre scenes often featuring classical elements. He exhibited at the Autumn Salons and at exhibitions in Warsaw, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. In addition to painting, the artist was also active as an art critic, publishing reviews in magazines such as *Wędrowiec* and *Tygodnik Ilustrowany*. He also wrote books devoted to the contemporary art of his time and the work of other painters.