Jan Styka (1858 Lviv - 1925 Rome), Scene of capture

pencil, paper, size 23.5 × 30.5 cm
light passe-partout
on the reverse a sketch
Provenance:
Collection of the family of Paul Schlockoff.
Private collection, Poland

The work included in the catalog may have been a sketch for the
monumental "Polonia" (measuring 3 x 6 meters). He painted
it on the 100th anniversary of the May 3 Constitution, in Lviv.
As specified - it was a "painted national poem". The painting
was an allegory of Polish history with a rich patriotic and religious
themes. The artist placed many figures on it - including the figure of
Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Kazimierz Pulawski, Jozef Poniatowski,
Tadeusz Rejtan or Father Mark. The painting itself
was enthusiastically received by the public. In the words of
Alexander Malaczynski: " [...] Polonia, like no other
painting subsequently spread in hundreds of thousands of pieces
among Poles of all three partitions and in America ,
and found its way into almost every Polish home."
Both in the presented sketch and in the monumental
work there is a treatment characteristic of Jan Styka of combining
Christian and historical motifs. Especially
visible in the sketch, the figure of the captured Christ and the captured
soldiers identifies the martyrdom of Jesus and the soldiers. Pain, captivity
and even death in the fight for a just cause - for the independence of the
homeland - for a free Poland!
The drawing comes from a legacy of about 100 drawings preserved
in the collection of Paul Schlockoff - the closest friend of
Adam Styka (son of Jan Styka). After emigrating to the United States
in the late 1940s, Adam Styka entrusted Paul with the
management of his Parisian affairs, the sale of various
paintings and also the sale of his apartment at Place
Pigalle 5. He also told him about his daily life
and the members of his family. The fruits of this friendship are the surviving
drawings and paintings by both Jan Styka and his sons, as well as an
rich correspondence between both Paul Schlockoff
and Adam, as well as Wanda and Doris Styka (wife of
Tadé). From some sixty letters, we learn many
details. Adam Styka wrote to Paul about a stay in Arizona
in 1948, which changed his work as a painter. As he wrote
in the letters: "for 2 months I was with my wife in Arizona, where I
I painted a lot, delighted with the light there,
landscape and especially cowboys with horses. So that temporarily
being away from Africa, you could say that I switched
to American subjects." Other letters mention the death of
of his mother (Jan Styka's wife), the potential sale of a painting by Tadé
Styka to the Louvre, or about the construction of the Crucifixion Hall in Calif,
which is to house a monumental painting by Jan Styka.