This horizontally oriented painting depicts a man shown from the shoulders up, turned with his left side toward the viewer. In the background, to the left, are small figures seated on a wooden beam. The light source comes from above, on the left.

The composition is divided into two sections. The right side is occupied by the man, while the left contains the background. The portrayed man is in the foreground. He is middle-aged, with short brown hair combed back and a slight receding hairline. His forehead is exposed, and his nose is slightly hooked and of medium size. His eyes are light, looking downward. Above them are light brown eyebrows. A brown moustache grows beneath his nose. His lips are slightly parted. Fine wrinkles are visible around his forehead, eyes, nose, and mouth. His left ear is also visible.

He wears a dark outfit, likely a suit. Underneath is a grey collar with bold vertical white decorations.

In the background are small, blurred figures lacking precise detail, resembling fantastical puppet-like characters with childlike bodies. Two of these figures are seated on a horizontal wooden beam stretching across the centre of the painting. One stands, playing a violin, with a round bald head and grey clothing. Next to it, on the right, another figure is seated, facing the viewer, holding an open book on its lap. It has an elongated head, tilted forward, brown hair, closed eyes, and a wide-open mouth. It wears a yellow garment. Its bare legs, hanging off the beam, are disproportionally long.

Beneath the beam are three more figures shown from the torso up, facing the viewer. They are pale and blurred, with indistinct outlines. They stand side by side. The figure on the left tilts its head leftward and has short brown hair. Its eyes are closed, and it holds a vertical black line—possibly a flute—to its mouth with the right hand. The middle figure has short brown hair and dark eyes and also appears to hold a flute-like object. The figure on the right has a round face and short brown hair, holding sticks and playing a drum placed in front of it.

The foreground is highly detailed, realistically rendering the man's appearance, while the background figures are merely suggested or left unfinished. The man's slightly hunched posture and downward gaze suggest he is playing a piano, which is not visible to the viewer.

Bolesław Raczyński was a composer, violinist, and violin teacher at the Clara Czop-Umlauf Music Institute in Kraków. He was also a theatre critic for "Krakowski Przegląd Teatralny", contributed to the art journal Maski, and collaborated with the cabaret Zielony Balonik at Jan Michalik’s café. He authored, among others, the poem Noc Listopadowa, the musical fairytale Królewicz Jaszczur, and composed music for the plays of Stanisław Wyspiański. A close friend of Witold Wojtkiewicz, Raczyński introduced the painter to the artistic and literary circle surrounding Eliza Pareńska’s renowned Kraków salon.

The portrait is composed in a manner typical of Wojtkiewicz’s style, with an asymmetrical layout and the main subject shifted off-centre. The background, composed of puppet-like figures arranged on shelves, has a narrative function, referencing the sitter’s profession, mood, and mental state. These puppets, equipped with instruments and sheet music, form a grotesque orchestra, dominated by the absorbed violinist. This motif can be read as a metaphor for the creative process and the birth of a new work, with the imagined ensemble accompanying the musician as he plays an unseen piano.

Source: Text by Światosław Lenartowicz on the painting Portrait of a Musician
Audiodescription: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Expert Content Consultation: Irena Buchenfeld