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| Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz "Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes" 1887 National Museum, Krakow |
In comparison with Marie Bashkirtseff (1858-1884) whose almost exact contemporary she was, Bilińska-Bohdanowicz appeared to be a somewhat slower-maturing artist. Although she died in her thirties rather than her twenties as Bashkirtseff did, she left us with much less information about herself and a smaller body of mature work. These two evocative self-portraits, the last one left unfinished by her death, are the pieces she left behind that most clearly hint at her individual genius, and the skill and power she was accruing.
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| Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz "Self-Portrait" 1892 National Museum, Warsaw |
7 comments:
Interesting post. What other subject matter did she paint? SB from a Dell
Bilińska-Bohdanowicz was mainly a figurative painter (if you click the link in the post "smaller body of work" you'll be directed to her collection in the National Gallery of Warsaw.) However, her other well-known piece is a breathtaking cityscape painted while on a trip to Berlin in 1890, "Unter den Linden."
Yes - beautiful work. I had a chance to see "Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes" in person awhile back; it still makes for a fresh and intense encounter with the artist. Not surprisingly, in the context of the National Museum, Krakow, she is presented as Polish. Perhaps, however, she did not embrace a singular ethnic identity. She lived during a century when such identities could be construed more fluidly, there being no autonomous Poland or Ukraine, etc. For all the difficulties of life under the Tsar, the Emperor and the Kaiser, nationalist developments subsequent to the fall of their empires have underlined the preciousness of such ambiguity.
J-M
Hi J-M, thanks for commenting! The fact being that she married a Polish man, and further, added his name (Bohdanowicz) to hers, then moved with him to live in Poland (where she died) lead me to suspect she self-identified as Polish, even if her "official" nationality was indeed somewhat ambiguous.
It's all water under the bridge now, but an interesting example of how an artist (once a certain level of fame has been achieved) will often be claimed by so many differing factions! ;-)
As a student, I first saw her painting "Self Portrait with Apron and Brushes" in a great book titled "Seeing Ourselves". It is filled with women's self portraits. I remember being drawn to this one for her strength and unforgiving yet gentle stare. Also, seeing another woman artist at work became a source for inspiration.
The palette reminds me of early photographs. Wondering whether this was intentional --
Interesting point. Her palette IS very limited. And she might have worked from photographs.... the first photograph was taken in 1826 and artists immediately grabbed onto this new medium with both hands. Degas, Lautrec, van Gogh...pretty much anyone who could, did.
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