Author: Wlastimil Hofman
Title: Evangelist Mark (1953)
Technique: oil, plywood
Dimensions: 50 x 60 cm
Dimensions with frame: 56 x 66 cm
Signed and dated l.g.: "1953 | Wlastimil | Hofman".
Inscribed on the back: "III cycle | 4 Evangelists | Mark".
Artwork description:
Religious themes play a special role in Wlastimil Hofman's work falling after World War II - both literal representations of biblical scenes and saintly figures, as well as depicting ordinary people in prayer or conversation with God (see, for example, the "Our Father" series or works showing confession). Although similar motifs also appeared in his earlier works, over time they gained in the strength of the expression contained in them.
After moving to Szklarska Poreba, Wlastimil Hofman painted paintings and flags that were to become part of the furnishings of churches, including the Corpus Christi Church in Szklarska Poreba. It also features, among other works by the artist, images of the four Evangelists created, like the works offered at the Krakow Auction House auction (lot 37-37), in 1953. Interestingly, there were even more versions of the Evangelists series created that year, as evidenced by archival photographs posted next to the object on the Krakow Auction House website [SEE].
Wlastimil Hofman, working on the final version intended for the church, created different proposals, depicting the same Evangelists at different ages, with different physiognomies and in changing poses, but always seen in profile, at work, with a pen in hand and the corresponding symbol in the background. In the paintings from the Corpus Christi church, St. Luke and St. John are depicted as beardless youths, seeking inspiration for further verses of the text. St. Matthew (a gray-haired, bearded old man) and St. Mark (a mature man with a dark beard) were again depicted by the artist as they were writing. It is extremely interesting to note that when constructing the work, Wlastimil Hofman did not work on preliminary sketches, but on finished paintings, refined with great reverence (especially in the context of the nature of his postwar work), versions of which he repeated in various combinations.
The depictions of St. Mark (lot 37) and St. Luke (lot 38), presented in the auction catalog, are almost twinned and are undoubtedly from the same series - both show the Evangelists, portrayed as mature men with beards, in monk-like habit, in the process of writing, against a landscape and blue sky, with the symbols attributed to them - a lion and an ox.
Wlastimil Hofman's biography is available on the Krakow Auction House website [SEE].
If you would like to sell paintings by Wlastimil Hofman, please contact us [LINK].