material: oil on canvas
dimensions: 49 x 63,5 cm
description: This painting differs from Michałowski’s other well-known oils in terms of style and the meticulousness of execution. It is closer to his early watercolours adhering to the Biedermeier convention. Moreover, being signed and dated, it holds a special place in the legacy of this artist in the field of easel painting. It was produced shortly after the artist’s return to Krakow from Paris in autumn 1835. Michałowski’s Krakow period (1835–1837) was a kind of continuation of his Parisian years (1832–1835), as the painter used studies and sketches brought from abroad and still worked for foreign clients at that time. Later on, Michałowski did not sell his works any more (except for a few charity events), and he usually did not sign them treating painting as a completely private sphere. The work depicts a unit of Austrian hussars, called the blue hussars after the colour of their uniforms. Their regiments were stationed in Podgórze near Krakow. The blue hussars looked lively and picturesque, so they caught the painter’s attention. He devoted at least several works to this motif, making up the so-called blue hussar series. Anna Zeńczak
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Romanticism. Towards national art >>>
dimensions: 49 x 63,5 cm
description: This painting differs from Michałowski’s other well-known oils in terms of style and the meticulousness of execution. It is closer to his early watercolours adhering to the Biedermeier convention. Moreover, being signed and dated, it holds a special place in the legacy of this artist in the field of easel painting. It was produced shortly after the artist’s return to Krakow from Paris in autumn 1835. Michałowski’s Krakow period (1835–1837) was a kind of continuation of his Parisian years (1832–1835), as the painter used studies and sketches brought from abroad and still worked for foreign clients at that time. Later on, Michałowski did not sell his works any more (except for a few charity events), and he usually did not sign them treating painting as a completely private sphere. The work depicts a unit of Austrian hussars, called the blue hussars after the colour of their uniforms. Their regiments were stationed in Podgórze near Krakow. The blue hussars looked lively and picturesque, so they caught the painter’s attention. He devoted at least several works to this motif, making up the so-called blue hussar series. Anna Zeńczak
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Romanticism. Towards national art >>>