This vertical drawing presents a simplified image of a woman standing on a path of white roses. Along the path stand male figures resembling mannequins on pedestals. The figures are rendered in white against a uniformly black background. The anatomy is simplified and cartoon-like.

The woman is positioned at the centre of the composition. Her figure occupies approximately one-third of the image height. She is turned to the left, with her torso bent forward and her head turned back toward the viewer. Her face is oval, with long dark hair falling onto her neck. Her eyes are closed, her nose is slender, and her lips are slightly parted. Her left hand is raised to her chin. She wears a black knee-length dress with long sleeves, adorned all over with gold stars. Her legs are slightly apart and bent at the knees. Her feet are bare.

She stands on a path made of thorny white roses. The path runs diagonally from the middle of the right edge of the image to the lower left corner. The roses are the brightest element in the composition.

In the middle ground, on the left side, stand four male figures arranged in a row on pedestals. A pedestal is a base typically used for displaying statues or vases. These are low, broad rectangular blocks. The men are all turned toward the woman, positioned in a line extending from left to right. The nearest figure stands tall with arms hanging at his sides. His head is elongated, and he wears a tall black top hat. His eyes are round, his nose long, and below it are curled black moustaches. He has a long neck and wears a long trench coat with narrow trousers. His disproportionately long feet are clad in black shoes with bows.

The next man is shorter. He also stands straight with arms by his sides. He wears a round-crowned hat. His face is round, with large round eyes and a bulbous nose. Thin black moustaches adorn his upper lip. He wears a light-coloured trench coat reaching his calves, narrow trousers, and black dress shoes. His legs are unnaturally thin.

The last two men are much farther in the background, their figures small and barely discernible. The first wears a tall hat and stands with arms at his sides. His torso tilts slightly to the right. He likely carries a rifle slung over his left shoulder, as a long object extends from that side.

The final figure stands with their left leg bent at the knee and the foot tucked behind the right leg. No further details are visible.

In the lower right corner, the artist’s signature is written in red ink.

The Harlot is one of the works in Wojtkiewicz’s Tragicomic Sketches series. In this drawing, the artist engages with the theme of the "fallen woman"—a popular motif in fin-de-siècle literature and art. The fallen woman symbolised the decadence of the era, torn between eroticism and spiritual longing for redemption. Wojtkiewicz presents the stooping woman standing on thorned roses as a universal allegory of suffering and social exclusion.

Source: Text by Irena Buchenfeld on The Harlot
Audiodescription: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Expert Content Consultation: Irena Buchenfeld