dimensions in light frame
Signed p.d.: K. Al; inscription by author l.g.: 1877 Czestoch (?)
Kazimierz Alchimowicz (Dziembrów, Vilnius, 1840 - Warsaw, 1916) spent his youth in Vilnius and near Kiev, where he worked as a land estate manager. For taking part in the January Uprising, he was exiled to Verkhutorii beyond the Urals, and there he began to paint amateurishly and even made a living from selling paintings with religious themes. He did not begin to study painting properly until after his return from exile (around 1869). Initially he studied at the Warsaw Drawing Class and at Wojciech Gerson's private studio, and later - in 1873-1875 - at the Munich Academy under Alexander Wagner, where he was awarded several medals for his school work. He spent the years 1876-1878 in France, painting on faience and porcelain, among other things. After returning to Poland, he settled permanently in Warsaw and from 1890 taught drawing at the private school of B. Poswikowa. He participated in many exhibitions, including the Paris Salons; he also exhibited in Ghent, Vienna , Berlin, Munich, Odessa, Warsaw, Cracow and Lvov. His paintings were awarded many times; among others, the painting Milda in 1890 was awarded the first prize in the W. Gerson competition and after a year a small gold medal at an exhibition in Berlin; the painting Funeral of Gedymin in 1888 was awarded 1st prize in St. Petersburg, and a year later a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris; in the competitions of the "Illustrated Weekly" in 1893 the painting Najem robotników received 1st prize, and in 1898 Świtezianka. Critical acclaim was matched by the recognition of collectors, among whom Alchimovich's paintings were always popular. In his paintings he readily drew on romantic, fairy-tale themes drawn most often from the ancient, legendary history of Lithuania. He also created scenes from the January Uprising, genre, historical and religious paintings, portraits and landscapes. An admirer of Mickiewicz's poetry, he painted 12 paintings based on motifs from Pan Tadeusz and made a series of illustrations for the poem. He was also involved in sculpture and wall painting.