Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (1885-1939), Portrait of Zofia z Szczepanowskich Szumanowa. 19 II 1938.

Pastel on gray paper by TIZIAN. Dimensions: 63.5 x 48 cm.
Signed at the bottom in the middle: Witkacy | 19/II 1938 | NP FZZ chw. | NII 6r. | beer + Mandarin + Ginger."

The work has an expert appraisal by Anna Żakiewicz dated October 17, 2022.

Work preserved in very good condition. There is a former tear in the paper in the middle upper margin.

Provenance:
- collection of Wanda and Kazimierz Nitsch
- collection of the heirs of

Zofia Szumanowa, née Szczepanowska, was the wife of Stefan Szuman (1889-1972), Witkacy's friend, physician, psychologist and philosopher. The Szuman family often hosted Witkacy in their Krakow apartment at 15 Słowackiego Avenue, one of such stays being described by the artist in letters to his wife Jadwiga.

On February 18, 1938, at the Philosophical Society in Krakow, Witkiewicz gave a lecture: On the strange perversions of the human mind, which he commented in a letter the next day: "The lecture was bullish and the discussion interesting, but I couldn't drink coffee in time and [...] there were complications. I'm eating sausage with horseradish and drinking beer at Frana Presser's, preparing for the final portrait of Shumanova."

As Dr. Anna Żakiewicz writes in her expert opinion: this "last portrait of Szumanova" mentioned in the quoted letter is, in all probability, the same as her image of February 19, 1938.

As Żakiewicz notes, "Zofia Szumanowa is portrayed extremely favorably in the portrait - rejuvenated, with a flawless oval face and slender neck, with a sparkle in [...] eyes [...] The neckline of her dark dress is crowned with a fancy large white bow, and her head is surrounded by a halo whose bright colors correspond with the blue of the model's eyes and carmine of her lips. [...] Szumanova's appearance presents well the female fashion of the time a la movie star known from popular photoshoots and, above all, cinema."

The portrait is without a marked type, but with interesting annotations. As Anna Żakiewicz lists, "NP ZZ chw. - did not smoke [cigarettes], a pipe with enlistment temporarily. NII - did not drink [high-alcohol], NP6r. - did not smoke [cigarettes] sixth year. Also - beer, Mandarin and Ginger [probably flavored additives to beer].

On the basis of, quoted earlier, the mention in Witkacy's letter to his wife Jadwiga, the portrait of Zofia Szumanowa mentioned there was included as item II 719 in Witkacy's "Catalogue of Paintings" published in 1990, compiled by Irena Jakimowicz with the cooperation of Anna Żakiewicz.

As the researcher of Witkacy's work writes: "Seven surviving portraits of Szumanova were cataloged at the time. Three of them are in the National Museums in Warsaw and Poznań, and the others are in private collections. The portrait, dated February 19, 1938, is one of the three images known only indirectly so far, so finding it is an important event for researchers and lovers of Witkacy's work, especially since we know the interesting circumstances of its creation."