Signature p.d.: T. Ociepka | 1968
On the reverse on canvas middleground: Lioness, lower: 2
Teofil Ociepka (Janów Śląski 1891 - Bydgoszcz 1978) was a naive painter, the most outstanding representative of this variety of art in Poland next to Nikifor. He graduated from public school, then at the age of 15, after the death of his father, he took a job to support his family. Until retirement, he worked in a mine in Upper Silesia. From childhood, he was interested in folk tales and fables, as well as occult theories, with which he was plugged through F. Hohmann, a German follower of Rosicrucian ideas, with whom he remained in contact for many years. Influenced by these interests, he joined an occult commune active in Janow (a district of Katowice). The group, which existed from the 1930s to the 1960s, was composed mainly of miners who devoted themselves to metaphysical quests and the exploration of Hermetic sciences. To these ideas Ociepka also subordinated his painting, developing in two stages. Initially, between 1927 and 1930, he learned the painting technique independently and with difficulty, creating his best works. He took up painting again after a seventeen-year hiatus, in 1947, at which time he achieved proficiency with the brush and an individual style. He had a distinctive, meticulous way of depicting and his own stock of motifs, which included images of beasts and fantastic plants in settings of paradise gardens. As the years passed, his painting became somewhat mannered. The story of the painter and the occult group from Janow inspired director Lech Majewski to make the film "Angelus" (2001).
