Władysław Bakałowicz (1833, Chrzanów – 1903, Paris), Lady with a Parrot

oil on panel, 18 x 12 cm
signed lower right: "LBakałowicz Paris”

Władysław Bakałowicz spent much of his life in Paris, where he specialized in painting genre scenes set against the backdrop of the 16th-century Valois court. He became famous for his atmospheric compositions depicting beautiful ladies in elegant gowns and opulent interiors. He particularly often depicted the reign of Henry II of Valois (1519–1559). The artist created exquisite, multi-figure canvases depicting scenes of audiences, diplomatic talks, courtship, and court ceremonies.
In addition to these multi-figure motifs depicting aristocratic life, he also painted portraits, often rendered in dark, subdued tones. In his work, he continued the tradition of the court portrait “en pied,” immortalizing the subject in all her splendor “from head to toe”—an example of which is the presented “Lady with a Parrot.” “In Bakałowicz’s portraits (…), though they are characterized by a similar ‘grandezza,’ what strikes the viewer is the contrast in the lady’s attire—all those folds, drapery, pin-ups, ruffles, puffs, and bows made of white silk that seems to rustle (…).” (M. Poprzęcka, “Polish Salon Painting,” Warsaw 1991, p. 19)

Each of Bakałowicz’s paintings represents immense artistry. A tribute to the old masters clearly resonates in the painter’s works. “(…) when he left for Paris in 1863, he saw the Louvre and the Dutch masters; he gazed at the white satin dresses of Terborg’s ladies, and soon turned his attention to the history of France (…) Banquets, dances, visits, jesters, pages, the Valois, the Buckinghams—they provided him with historical anecdotes and a pretext for painting old wardrobes, chairs, carpets, cushions, curtains, boxes, lace collars, and other props typical of historical genre painting.” (E. Niewiadomski, “Polish Painting of the 19th and 20th Centuries,” Warsaw 1926, p. 144)