Lot 30: WLADISLAW CZACHORSKI

WLADISLAW CZACHORSKI POLISH 1850-1911 FLIRTATION signed and dated 1889 upper right oil on canvas 91.5 by 61cm., 36 by 24in.

F. Radspieler, Munich
Estate of Mrs S. K. Legare, Washington DC
Sale: Christie's, New York, 23 February 1989, lot 147
Barbara Piasecka Johnson, New Jersey
Acquired circa 2000 by the present owner

Czachorski is best known for his detailed illustrations of exquisite aristocratic women in extravagantly appointed interiors. In Flirtation a girl in the full bloom of youth, in a sumptuous dress and a lavish interior, holds court to a hopeful suitor. This work shows Czarchorski at the height of his skills in depicting genre subjects. The young woman's loveliness and innocence are set off to their best advantage in the splendid and eclectic room, each element denoting sophisticated taste and social status.

Czachorski began his artistic training at the Warsaw Drawing School at the age of sixteen. After studying for a year at the Dresden Academy and joining the Munich Academy, where he spent five years under the direction of Hermann Anschutz, Alexander Wagner and Karl von Piloty, he won the prestigious Grand Silver Medal upon graduation. Czachorski then travelled throughout Europe, visiting France, Italy and Poland. He settled permanently in Munich in 1879, but continued to exhibit frequently in Poland, in particular Warsaw, Krakow, Lwow and Lodz.