Olga Boznańska - Portrait of Feliks Jasieński 1907
Olga Boznańska - Portrait of Feliks Jasieński 1907
Title: Portrait of Feliks Jasieński
Author: Olga Boznańska
Date: 1907
Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on cardboard
Dimensions: height: 84.5 cm, width: 71 cm; with frame: height: 97 cm, width: 83 cm, depth: 5 cm
The vertically oriented painting depicts Feliks Jasieński seated in a blue armchair. The man is shown in the gentle half-light of an interior, surrounded by warm browns and blurred contours. He sits upright, facing forward, in a large upholstered chair with a high back, portrayed from the knees upward. He looks straight ahead. His dark, short hair frames a high forehead. His face is slender and elongated, with a full beard. His beard is neatly trimmed, and his mustache long, curling upwards at the ends. His fair complexion contrasts with the dark room. The face is lit softly from the left, casting a delicate shadow on the right side of his head. His dark eyes gaze calmly and attentively. He does not smile, yet he is not stern—his look conveys attentiveness, perhaps touched with reflection. His posture is calm but not stiff, as though he has just settled into the chair, ready to listen to a long story.
He sits with his right leg crossed over his left knee. He wears an elegant dark frock coat with a waistcoat, a white high-collared shirt, and a white bow tie. Around his neck hangs a long pendant, sketched lightly with the brush. The cuffs of his white shirt peek out from beneath his jacket sleeves. His hands rest together on his lap, fingers naturally interlaced. On the little finger of his left hand he wears a gold ring set with a blue stone. The hands appear bright, almost illuminated, their fingertips catching the light with a subtle sheen. Every joint and curve of the fingers is carefully rendered. They stand out against the dark room and the man’s clothing, painted with as much precision as his face.
In the lower right corner is the artist’s signature with the date: Olga Boznańska. 1907. Written in black paint, it almost merges with the figure of the sitter.
The background of the portrait is indistinct, barely suggested. Dominated by brown and orange hues, it resists clear identification of furnishings. One object, however, stands out: a golden Buddhist shrine from Jasieński’s collection. The shrine is fairly large, roughly the size of the sitter’s torso, positioned to the right, likely resting on a brown table. The painting is intentionally unfinished at the edges, with orange underpainting visible and contours indicated only through patches of color. Everything here seems suspended: gesture, thought, light. The background remains quiet, diffuse, deliberately receding to emphasize the sitter’s presence.
The portrait radiates warmth, simplicity, and respect. It is not a portrait of triumph, but of presence—focused, self-aware. As though time itself has paused to capture, in silence, what is most human: calmness, maturity, dignity.
Audio description prepared by Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Substantive Consultation: Urszula Kozakowska - Zaucha
Author: Olga Boznańska
Date: 1907
Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on cardboard
Dimensions: height: 84.5 cm, width: 71 cm; with frame: height: 97 cm, width: 83 cm, depth: 5 cm
The vertically oriented painting depicts Feliks Jasieński seated in a blue armchair. The man is shown in the gentle half-light of an interior, surrounded by warm browns and blurred contours. He sits upright, facing forward, in a large upholstered chair with a high back, portrayed from the knees upward. He looks straight ahead. His dark, short hair frames a high forehead. His face is slender and elongated, with a full beard. His beard is neatly trimmed, and his mustache long, curling upwards at the ends. His fair complexion contrasts with the dark room. The face is lit softly from the left, casting a delicate shadow on the right side of his head. His dark eyes gaze calmly and attentively. He does not smile, yet he is not stern—his look conveys attentiveness, perhaps touched with reflection. His posture is calm but not stiff, as though he has just settled into the chair, ready to listen to a long story.
He sits with his right leg crossed over his left knee. He wears an elegant dark frock coat with a waistcoat, a white high-collared shirt, and a white bow tie. Around his neck hangs a long pendant, sketched lightly with the brush. The cuffs of his white shirt peek out from beneath his jacket sleeves. His hands rest together on his lap, fingers naturally interlaced. On the little finger of his left hand he wears a gold ring set with a blue stone. The hands appear bright, almost illuminated, their fingertips catching the light with a subtle sheen. Every joint and curve of the fingers is carefully rendered. They stand out against the dark room and the man’s clothing, painted with as much precision as his face.
In the lower right corner is the artist’s signature with the date: Olga Boznańska. 1907. Written in black paint, it almost merges with the figure of the sitter.
The background of the portrait is indistinct, barely suggested. Dominated by brown and orange hues, it resists clear identification of furnishings. One object, however, stands out: a golden Buddhist shrine from Jasieński’s collection. The shrine is fairly large, roughly the size of the sitter’s torso, positioned to the right, likely resting on a brown table. The painting is intentionally unfinished at the edges, with orange underpainting visible and contours indicated only through patches of color. Everything here seems suspended: gesture, thought, light. The background remains quiet, diffuse, deliberately receding to emphasize the sitter’s presence.
The portrait radiates warmth, simplicity, and respect. It is not a portrait of triumph, but of presence—focused, self-aware. As though time itself has paused to capture, in silence, what is most human: calmness, maturity, dignity.
Audio description prepared by Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Substantive Consultation: Urszula Kozakowska - Zaucha