Władysław Skoczylas (1883 Wieliczka - 1934 Warsaw), Head of a Junak, circa 1919

Literature
Maryla Sitkowska, Władysław Skoczylas (1883-1934), Warsaw 2015, pp. 44, 216, cat. no. 33, 43 (ill.)

Biography
Educated in Vienna and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under Teodor Axentowicz and Leon Wyczółkowski. In Paris, he studied sculpture with Antoine Bourdelle and in Leipzig, at the Academy of Graphic Arts (1912-13). Recognized as the creator of modern Polish woodcut; he also masterfully used watercolor. He exhibited together with the Formists. He was a co-founder of the Association of Artists "Rhythm". In 1922-34 he held the chair of artistic graphics at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, and from 1932 was a professor at the academy. In his work, he readily drew on folk folklore, especially often the Podhale region. Oil paintings in the oeuvre of this artist are a great rarity.