Dimensions: 77 x 93 cm
signed and dated p.d.: 'J Skotnicki 1930'
on the reverse a paper exhibition sticker
Exhibited
Exhibition - fair, Artists Group "Zachęta", date unknown
Biography
Visual artist, political activist, resident of Podkowa Leśna. Studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, his lecturers were Jan Ciąglinski and Léon Bakst. He continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under Jacek Malczewski, Teodor Axentowicz, Leon Wyczółkowski and Jozef Mehoffer, and then in 1904-1905, taking classes in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere. From 1908 to 1917 he lived in Zakopane, where he co-founded the "Podhale Art" society and the "Kilim" workshop run by his wife, Theodora. Appointed a member of the Council of State in 1918. He took part in the independence struggle in 1918, fighting in the Second Brigade of the Legions. From 1922 to 1929 he held the position of director in the Department of Culture and the Arts at the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment. On December 16, 1922, he participated in Gabriel Narutowicz's visit to the Zachęta building and was present at the assassination attempt and death of the president. After 1945, he briefly worked again at the Ministry of Education, but was removed from ministerial work after his pre-war activities were revealed. Together with art historian Andrzej Kossakowski, he ran the Visual Arts Center in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, of which he was the originator and founder.
In 1957, Jan Skotnicki's fictionalized memoirs entitled "At the easel and at the desk" appeared in print. A second, completed and expanded edition is currently in preparation.
His work includes both oil and watercolor techniques. In addition to paintings, he drew and created graphic art. These included Young Poland figural scenes with historical and military themes, as well as landscapes. In later years he expanded his work to include portrait painting. In 1906 he had his first solo exhibition at the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, and in 1910 he exhibited his works at the General Exhibition of Polish Art in Lviv. The next two major exhibitions of Jan Skotnicki's work took place at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in 1913 and 1918. In 1940 a retrospective exhibition of Skotnicki's work was planned. From 1947 to 1955 he taught art history at the Visual Culture Center in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, of which he was the founder and first director.
