Jan STYKA (1858–1925), "Kroton," from the series "Quo Vadis," 1901

heliogravure, paper, 25.5 x 17. 5 cm (plate impression), passe-partout: 37 x 29 cm, signed within the composition, lower right: interlaced monogram “JS,” below the composition “Eroton,” and the artist’s signature “imp.Ch.Wittmann” (imp. – impressit/printed by).

Croton—the gladiator hired by Marcus Vinicius to kill Ursus.

Jan Styka was the first Polish artist to illustrate the complete text of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s *Quo vadis*, and his body of work related to this novel was particularly extensive. Over the course of many years of work, the artist produced over 200 drawings and en grisaille paintings (for the Flammarion publishing house) as well as more than a dozen colorful oil paintings. His panorama *The Martyrdom of Christians in Nero’s Circus* and the illustrations for the novella *Let Us Follow Him!* also belong to this group of thematically related works. Jan Styka (1858–1925) painted historical and religious works, portraits, and battle scenes. He was best known as the creator of massive historical and religious panoramas. The artist was born in Lviv. From 1877, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, and then (from 1882 to 1885) at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków.
Charles Wittman (1876–1953)—French painter, printmaker, and illustrator; graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.