Zofia STRYJEŃSKA (1891-1976), Baptism from the series: Sacraments, ca. 1922

gouache, cardboard; 46 x 82 cm (light frame);
Signed l. d.: Zofia Stryjeńska (in pencil);
On the back, damaged paper sticker with no: 125 and two traces of two paper stickers.
The gouache "Baptism" comes from Zofia Stryjeńska's important series of seven paintings "Seven Sacraments", which was painted at the commission of the artist's brother-in-law Adam Dygas. Since its creation, in 1922, it remained at the artist's disposal and was presented at her most important exhibitions. The first time it was shown was during an exhibition on the Association of Polish Artists "Rhythm" in Warsaw's Zachęta Gallery, then at Franciszek Studziński's Art Antiquarian in Krakow in 1928 (excluding the composition "Marriage") and at the Religious Art Exhibition in Padua in 1931, when the painter won a silver medal for it.
Three works from the series, "Confirmation," "Confession" and "Viaticum," are in the collection of the National Museum in Cracow.
The offered painting is an extremely rare and crucial representation of Zofia Stryjeńska's work, especially since the storage place of the other three compositions is not known so far. This is the second, after the "Pascha" series (1917-1918), collection of Zofia Stryjeńska's religious works from the artist's early period, when her painting style was crystallizing.
The series is characterized by simplified forms, schematic representation of the movement of figures and limited, very sophisticated colors. At the same time, however, what draws attention is the precise rendering of some details, which contrasts with the simplicity of the whole.
The artist characteristically immortalized folk customs, scenes from village life or Slavic myths in her paintings and prints. She constructed the space of the sub-painting from defined, slightly geometric color patches of distinctive hues, which can be considered a transposition of her experience with Cubist painting.
One of the key moments in Zofia Stryjeńska's work was when she received the grand prix in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris. At the same time, this is the time when the art déco style was exceptionally popular, and although it is mainly associated with applied art in the broadest sense, its formal elements can also be found in Zofia Stryjeńska's paintings. It is worth mentioning that the artist was also involved in designing scenography, illustrations, textiles or even toys, which probably also allowed the influences of the trends of the time from different fields of art to freely permeate each other and gave the opportunity to create a unique set of features common to her work.