Stanislaw Szreniawa Rzecki (1888-1972), [Teodor Axentowicz] Invitation to the Green Balloon cabaret, ca. 1910

Lithograph with gold paint, paper; dimensions: 285 x 350 mm. Invitation to a performance of the cabaret "Green Balloon" for Professor Teodor Axentowicz. On the right side of the composition text: "Cabaret in a close circle as it used to be in the old days will be held this Saturday the 13th in the michalik dacha. Come dear Prof. Axentowicz. On your presence we specifically care". Signature below: Z.[green] B.[alonik]. Name of the invitee written by hand. State of preservation: traces of folding on four, good condition. Rare!

The "Green Balloon" cabaret was the first Polish literary cabaret; founded by poets, writers and visual artists, it functioned in 1905-12 in Apolinary Michalik's confectionery on Florianska Street in Cracow. Thanks to occasional invitations, it had an elite character, and the specificity of cabaret presentations was the combination of word and drawing. Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Adolf Nowaczyński, Juliusz Osterwa, Karol Frycz, Kazimierz Sichulski, Leon Schiller, Alfons Karpinski, Fryderyk Pautsch, Ludwik Puget and others were associated with the cabaret.
Teodor Axentowicz (1859-1938) painter, draughtsman and graphic artist of Armenian origin, professor and rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, creator of acclaimed portraits, genre scenes and posters.