Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, USA.

'The hallmark of Czachorski's style and the basis of his fame, are his images of beautiful young women in rich interiors, painted with great realism. He has long been regarded a master of rendering fabrics, jewellery and other details to create the atmosphere of luxury and elegance.'

This elegiac review cited by The Kosciuszko Foundation (a not-for-profit, organization dedicated to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland) encapsulates perfectly the work of Ladislas Czachorski.

Czachorski was born in Lublin in 1850 and began his studies with Rafal Hadziewicz at the Warsaw Drawing School in 1866. After a year at the Dresden Academy, he travelled to Munich where he was to spend the next five years studying at The Academy with Hermann Anschutz. Among his contemporaries were Alexander Wagner, and Karl von Piloty.

Czachorski was awarded the Grand Silver Medal (magna cum laude) on his graduation and after extensive travels in Europe he settled in Munich in 1879. He exhibited widely throughout his life and was also an organiser and jurist of many international exhibitions. A retrospective of his work was held at the Warsaw Zacheta Society of Fine Arts in 1911.

A Short Story is a wonderful example of the richly detailed romantic interiors for which he was noted. A young lady stands in an interior engrossed in a small booklet or pamphlet. The rendering of her silk dress is extraordinary and matched only by the quality of the work on the carpet, table covering and other objects in the room. With echoes of the Dutch master, Vermeer, the viewer is drawn into this intimate scene by the careful placement of objects within a clearly defined space lit by the brilliance of the drapery. The artist captures a moment in time, albeit imaginary, with a skill that rightly places him amongst the very best artists of his generation.