format:23x31cm in light passe-partout, original autolithography from the portfolio of Legionary Artists,signed,dated and titled on the plate p.śr.
"Portfolio of autolithographs by Legionary artists published on the twentieth anniversary of the armed deed of the Legions 1919-1934".
The portfolio was published in 1934 in Cracow by the Section of Legionary Artists and accompanied the Historical Exhibition of the Polish Legions at the National Museum in Cracow. The exhibition was later also shown in other cities, including Lviv. Also present at the exhibition were Ignacy Pinkas' Legion-themed works, most of which were unfortunately lost during World War II. Some are known from photographs, and those that survived, such as the portrait of artilleryman Tadeusz Muller, are in the National Museum in Cracow. The portfolio contains 15 lithographs by 10 artists, including Ignacy Pinkas. They include works by Stanisław Dąbrowski, Kazimierz Dzieliński, Stanisław Janowski, Franciszek Jaźwiecki, Stanisław Kamocki, Tadeusz Korpal, Tadeusz Seweryn, Wincenty Wodzinowski and Leon Wyczółkowski. The works show portraits of soldiers, combat and life in the trenches, war cemeteries and symbolic scenes. Most are signed in pencil by the authors.
All works were created especially for the exhibition in question.
Ignacy Pinkas (born December 12, 1888 in Jaslo, died August 3, 1935 in Cracow) is a Polish painter. At the age of eighteen, he and his family moved to Cracow, where he worked casually doing various jobs, including being an actor in a touring theater. Since childhood he showed artistic talent, when in 1907 he painted a portrait of Archduke Franz Joseph the amount he received from the sale allowed him a year later to become a free student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. His lecturers were Stanisław Dębicki and Jacek Malczewski, and after three years he left for Paris. In 1912 he returned and joined the "Strzelecki" Riflemen's Association. On August 17, 1914, he joined the 1st Brigade of the Polish Legions, and later fought in the ranks of the 1st Artillery Regiment. After the formation of the Polish Positional Corps, he joined its ranks, and was interned at the camp in Vítkovice on February 14, 1918. Throughout the course of his service he created, these were mainly portraits of commanders and comrades-in-arms. In 1919, acting as a military draughtsman, he participated in the expedition of the division commanded by General Lucjan Żeligowski to Vilnius, while staying there he created a series of landscapes showing Vilnius and its suburbs. After 1920, Ignacy Pinkas focused on his art, traveling to Prague, Warsaw, Lviv and Vilnius, as well as to the Baltic Sea and France. He was a member of the Cracow Section of Artists of the Legionary Union.
Autolithography - a lithograph, created by the author - a graphic artist directly on the lithographic stone.
