Olga Boznańska (1865 Kraków - 1940 Paris), Portrait of a woman in a hat (Aleksandra of Jasieńska Łosiowa?), ca. 1900.

oil, cardboard, 56 × 45 cm
description. and signed p. d.: " To Counts/Wincenty/Losi/Olga Boznańska."

Provenance:
- private collection, Poland
- Polswissart Auction House, 2018.
- Agra Art Auction House, 1994.
- Collection of Count Wincenty Łosia, Krakow

Exhibited:
- "Boznańska unknown", Szczecin - Warsaw
- Stalowa Wola - Sopot- Krakow, October 2005 - July 2006

Reproduced:
- A. Król, "Boznańska unknown" [exhibition catalog], published by Zamek Książąt Pomorskich in Szczecin, 2005, p. 85.


"Man interests her above all. The portraitist-psychologist is attracted not only to a person's externality, but also to his or her internality, which she brings to the light of the picture with the help of her eyes. The face often dissolves into non-condensed lines, paint soaks into the soft background of the cardboard, only the isolated dark, eloquent patches of the eyes speak for the whole. In order for them to reign, Boznańska subdues the color of her dress, the shine of her hair willingly hides under her hat. Are her portraits similar to the originals? Certainly by some one, just for the artist perceptible hook, by the way, today it is not a matter of strict rendering, with the development of photography as it is today, even the greatest realist cannot be tempted to do so. On the other hand, in the way the model is reflected, we look for spiritual and sometimes physical affinity with the creator."
A. Wyleżyńska, Olga Boznańska, "Ivy" 1934, no. 20, pp. 603-604

The offered portrait study of a woman wearing a hat in all probability depicts the wife of Count Wincenty Łoś, a Polish nobleman, writer and art collector. A clue to making such a conjecture is the dedication placed by Boznanska in the lower right corner of the painting, which unquestionably indicates the portrait's origin from the count's collection.
In 1884, Wincenty Łoś married Aleksandra Jasieńska of the Dołęga coat of arms, henceforth also known as Wincentowa Countess Łosiowa, in Osuchów. It is known that the interior of the palace in Ozarow near Lublin, which Count Wincenty inhabited, was decorated with a large portrait of young Aleksandra with a fan painted by Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz. An archival photograph has survived showing this portrait in a wide, richly decorated frame hung on the wall (A. Konstankiewicz, Collection of the Łosi family - Family Archives of the Independent). It is possible that the count, who was a passionate collector, wanted to have a portrait of his beloved made by Boznanska as well. At that time, the painter was already recognized and highly regarded by critics in the context of portrait painting, which was the main part of her artistic output. In the 1890s she actively presented her canvases internationally by participating in numerous exhibitions. In the pages of the magazine "Bazar", which appeared in 1895, the artist was included in a list of the twelve best female painters in Europe ("Dictionary of Polish and Foreign Artists Active in Poland. Painters, Sculptors, Graphic Artists," 1971, p. 222). An artist of increasingly established standing, she certainly did not escape the count's attention. Closer circumstances of the creation of this portrait are not known, but the painting is of great interest not only for its origin, but also in terms of an analysis of Boznanska's painting technique. M Wincenty Łoś (1857-1918) came from a noble family that sealed itself with the Dąbrowa coat of arms. He was one of four children of Eusebia and Adam Kirchmayer. He was named after his grandfather on his mother's side, who was a banker. He owned a landed estate in Ozarow. He pursued novel writing and collecting family heirlooms to create a family monograph. The documentation he collected, immortalizing the fate of the family, was meticulously cataloged and described under the name "Łosiowiana." Among the best-known novels that came from the pen of Vincent Moose are: "Today's Marriages" (1884), "Count Starosta" (1885), "Jedrzek" (1890), "Linoskoczka" (1891) and "Yesterdays" (1892-1896).