Artur Grottger (1837-1867), Charge, 1858

Varnished watercolor; oval, size: 30.5 x 27 Signed: p.d.: Arthur Grottger / 858 Signature repeated below: Arthur Grottger (slightly cropped). The work is framed in old pp, glued at the top edge to cardboard.

Composition alluding to the cycles "School of a Polish Nobleman" (four watercolors in the collection of the MNWr) and "Life of a Knight". It depicts an attack by Polish cavalrymen - an armored man and a dragoon. At the end of 1854 Grottger went to Vienna, where in 1855-1858 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts under K. Blaas, K. Meyer and P. Geiger. He was particularly fond of the latter; under his influence, he later favored black-and-white printmaking over color painting. The artist spent a large part of his life in Vienna, from 1854 to 1865. state of preservation: brown spots within the composition. An extremely rare work by the legendary Polish artist on the antiquarian market.