Pastel on paper, signed lower left “KŻelechowski.”
Dimensions in frame: 85x69 cm (68x52 cm)
Kasper Żelechowski (Klecza Dolna 1863 – 1942 Kraków) – Polish painter, poet, photographer, and diarist. In the years 1879–1888 and 1893–1894, he studied at the Kraków School of Fine Arts, where he was a student of Jan Matejko in the composition department; he also studied at the Munich Academy from 1888 to 1890 under Karl Raupp. He painted many portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes—sometimes imbued with political and social themes—as well as compositions with elements of fantasy, based on motifs from fairy tales and folk legends. He was one of the co-creators of the Panorama of the Tatra Mountains (1895), exhibited in Warsaw. He collaborated with the Kraków cabaret “Zielony Balonik.” After completing his studies, he settled permanently in Kraków, where he worked and exhibited his art. He frequently exhibited his works at the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts. He participated in the Art Exhibition of the Kraków Association of Visual Artists, held in 1924 in Lublin, and in 1929 in an exhibition of self-portraits in Kraków. As a former Legionnaire and member of the Polish Gymnastics Society “Sokół,” he also participated in several exhibitions dedicated to the art of the Legions, including exhibitions in Kraków (1916) and Warsaw (1917). Żelechowski briefly ran a photography studio in Kraków at 14 Podwale Street. He became famous as a portrait photographer, including a portrait of Włodzimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer from 1892. Alojzy Olma took over Kasper Żelechowski’s studio in 1896. On November 11, 1937, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
